


Star Wars: Episode VIII - Whispers Of The Dark

by MarrishxMe



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, Episode 8, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Force Bonds, Friendship, Hate, Jedi, Kenobi Rey, Knights of Ren - Freeform, Love, Luke's Academy, Maybe - Freeform, Memory Loss, Post Force Awakens, Redemption, Reylo - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Star Wars - Freeform, The Darkside, The First Order, War, brain washing, intergalactic, soft side to Phasma, stormtrooper babies, stormtroopers - Freeform, the resistance, you'll have to see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-11 01:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7869904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarrishxMe/pseuds/MarrishxMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two and a half months after the events of Episode VII, Rey struggles new found inner conflicts as her feeling and emotions have heightened along with her powers as she faces her greatest challenges in becoming a Jedi Knight... Will she prevail?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Star Wars fic, i really hope you like it! :D i'm really looking forward to exploring the slow burn i plan to write for Reylo!! :>

**Star Wars: Episode VIII  
Whispers Of The Dark**

**Two and a half months after the desolation of STARKILLER BASE, REY has begun her training with LUKE SKYWALKER in aspiration to be a JEDI KNIGHT as their whereabouts is remained unknown to all but GENERAL LEIA ORGANA in order to protect them.**

**THE RESISTANCE whilst growing in number fears the potential struggle to defend the galaxy from THE FIRST ORDER with the demise of THE NEW REPUBLIC, even after the quelled attacks from the reduced and seemingly eradicated FIRST ORDER.**

**The remains of THE FIRST ORDER has arisen from the ashes to form THE NEW EMPIRE under the command of SUPREME LEADER SNOKE as he awaits news from KYLO REN on his search to capture REY from THE RESISTANCE, having escaped his sure fate on STARKILLER BASE...**

 

* * *

 

  
"Talk isn't just cheap, it's _free_."

Rey snarled at Kylo Ren as he stood before her, feigning a tortured expression that she didn't believe for a second. He peered back to her, his eyes having lowered to the forest ground.

"At least I'm not lying to myself, I know what I've done, what I am. Do you?"

He shot back at her as he infinitesimally raised his scarlett saber in her direction in accusation. He was right about one thing though - even he knew that he was a _monster_... But she couldn't help being reminded of a yearning for the power of the darkness within, as she had experienced before...

Her frown had fallen short in thought. _No, Rey - don't believe a word he says don't let him make you question who you are, you know..._ Does she really though? Not even knowing her past, who she used to be, how could she know who she  _is_? Kylo Ren picked up on her hesitation, utilising it,

"I _know_ who you are, where you come from - what you can be. And I can show you. Come with me."

His voiced softened on the final three words, Rey started to losen the grip on the blue saber she held afore her as tears threatened to well in her hazel eyes. Kylo disengaged his saber, dropping it to the ground. Extending a gloved hand, beseeching. Suddenly, the light that filtered through the trees, that danced across his features, grew dim. Until the light disappeared. She took a step forward, seemingly in a trance and as she reached for his hand their was a tearing of her mind. Half of her begged to stop stretching her arm to him, the other was feeling utterly seduced to the lure. As she gazed upon his face again, his brown eyes grew onyx, along with the tightening clench of his jaw and she felt a surge of cold through her now shivering form.

_What am i doing?!_

In that moment, he smiled darkly and gripped her arm - Rey sprang up from her sheets in a cold sweat, gasping for air as if she'd been drowning. _It was a dream Rey, calm down_ she thought. She swiped her slick forehead in an attempt to rid her face of the evidence of such a nightmare. After allowing a moment of still silence, Rey attempted to relax her stiff limbs walking around her bedroom. She came to face the moonlit window and glanced askance to the vastly uneven terrain in which she first found the infamous Luke Skywalker those many weeks ago, a memory surfacing.

...............................................

"Very good, Rey, your footwork is improving nicely."

Rey beamed at her new master as she panted after their spar. However things quickly turned sour when Luke's expression grew somber as he straightened himself,

"However I sensed your use of aggression in your fighting style today, anger leads to hate and hate is a path to the dark side."

Rey's smile dropped and she flushed to her feet in embarrassment, she hadn't intended for _the monster_ to get to her that much. Luke continued in her silence, 

"When I advised to tap further into the force I didn't expect you to do it through your aggression, as you had your first duel."

He was referring to when Rey had fought Kylo Ren on Starkiller base before it blew to pieces, back when she wasn't as experienced as she is becoming now.

"What was it you were thinking of, Rey?"

She let out a shaky breath of - what? Guilt?

"I was thinking of Han Solo, the night of his death - his murder."

She almost spat her last word,

"Of his _murderer_."

She tried composing herself with better restraint, but she just welled at the eyes and furiously scraped her cheeks of a traitor tear that had escaped. Luke took cautious steps towards her until he could place his hands on her shoulders and waited for her gaze to meet his.

"Rey, I know your grief for Han is being masked by a hatred you channel towards Kylo Ren, but it will be easier to control through time. Do not let Ren seduce you to the dark side."

...............................................

As Rey reflected she came to the realisation that the last thing she wanted right now was to be alone. Though she had grown used to the feeling through her years on Jakku, her friends had been like a family to her and all she'd wanted was a family. She couldn't seem to shake her dream, though only a nightmare, she felt the truth that rang through it.

"Rey?"

Luke voiced in a rasped tone from behind her door,

"Are you alright? I sensed a great distress from you."

Rey turned to open her door and coerced a smile to him, being a master as well as a father figure. Having somewhat taken over the role after the death of Han Solo...

"I'll be fine. When can we visit or be visited again by our friends?"

She tried her best to hide her despondent tone, even though he was most likely able to sense it.

"Soon, don't worry, Rey."

But it wasn't soon enough. Rey couldn't bring herself to ponder as to why she didn't tell Luke of her dream, not wanting to finalise any possibility of it coming true in some way... If she could help it, she wouldn't spare a word to the monster she would fight it.  
______________________

"But General -"

Finn cut off his speech at her raised eyebrows,

"Sorry, _Leia_ ,"

He corrected,

"What if they need us? What if The First Order find them and nobody here knows where to look for them but you so we're already a step behind and -"

Leia cut off his anxious ramblings as she stopped them in their tracks on their base.

"Finn! She'll be alright, she's strong. We both know that."

Finn rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at the way Leia singled out Rey, clearly sensing his concern is greater for her.

"Why don't we pay them a visit? It's been quiet lately i'm sure one day wouldn't hurt, hmm?"

Finn relaxed muscles he didn't even realise were tense and sighed a shaky laugh, nodding in assent.

"Make sure Poe knows, he wouldn't want to miss out."

Leia smiled maternally to Finn as she patted his shoulder and whisked away, presumably in preparation for something Finn didn't know what.

Rey. It had been weeks, months since he saw his old friend. He awoke sometime after the destruction of Starkiller Base to find out she'd left in search of Luke Skywalker, he didn't even get the chance to say goodbye... He had jumbled thoughts and feelings of her that he struggled to decipher many a time, but he wouldn't dwell on that now. Now he was going to find his great friend, Poe Dameron, telling him the good news.  
_______________________

Rey couldn't hide the snap in her walk as she made her way to another training session from Luke, having heard the news of the expected arrival of their friends. She came across Luke meditating and for some reason was reminded of when she first found him, his blatant apprehension, how for weeks he'd refused to train her. He never explained why but Rey knew. He feared. Feared she would turn to the dark side. Feared she would be seduced by Snoke and Kylo Ren. Feared failure to her, his sister, our friends. Himself.

"Are you ready for today's training? Today we'll focus on your telekinesis."

Luke stood calmly and met her gaze warmly. Before Rey could answer, she was chilled to the bone.

_So this is where you've been hiding, Scavenger_.

Rey's eyes darted to Luke, bewildered. Luke returned it with concern and before he even asked what was wrong, Rey knew the voice was not Luke's. And only _one_ person has ever named her this way. Well if he was a person at all.

_Your youthful arrogance has led to negligence, I see. No matter, that can still be corrected_.

His snide commentary invaded her mind as she whipped her head around frantically, almost believing he was right around the corner he sounded so close. She'd heard of Force Bonds before, through Luke. Never had she actually entertained the idea that she shared one with the murderer, the monster.

_I'm glad you think so highly of me, I'm touched_.

"Rey, what. Is. It?!"

Luke shook her shoulders lightly to gain her attention, she breathed,

"Kylo Ren."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment your thoughts! I'd love to know, i hope you liked it!


	2. The Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little short! I will finish editing it tomorrow as it's nearly 3am where i am so i need to sleep haha XD but hope you like it so far! Will update tomorrow!  
> PS please excuse stupid mistakes, it's late and this is the first draft :')

Rey could tell by the look upon Luke's face that Kylo Ren was still far enough away that even Luke could not anticipate his whereabouts. His moment of shock did not last long, as he gripped her shoulders more tightly.

"You must go - no, Rey please listen,"

He stopped her from interrupting, knowing how much she wanted to stay and fight.

"You just aren't ready, I cannot let you face him. You are strong with the force yes but I cannot risk this - he is stronger than before, having trained no doubt but especially as he was injured when you last saw him."

Luke stared wistfully, his voice full of paternal fervour.

"I won't leave you with him. He'll find me anyway!"

Luke frowned and said under his breath,

"Of course..."

Rey quirks a brow as she fought the lump swelling in her throat. He released her shoulders as he looked to the sides for answers,

"You knew he was coming before I could sense it -"

He returned his gaze to her,

"You must share a Force Bond with him."

Just hearing the words made her sick to her stomach and she shook her head, willing it to not be true.

_At least I'm not hiding anything from you that's of your own suppressed past._

Rey gasped at the thoughts pushed in her mind, _what does he mean?_

 _Confused? Why don't you ask the ma_ n _you deem a father?_

Rey was already somewhat unstable in this moment, and she couldn't deny the hurt that glossed over her eyes as she peered at Luke. But before she could ask, Luke had closed his eyes, having sensed Kylo's presence nearing.

"He's here, it must be now, Rey please."

Luke implored as he stepped away from her, igniting his saber.

"Get to the Falcon, contact Leia and get out of here!"

He shouted as he made haste toward the first Jedi Temple, _that's good_ Rey thought, _he will be able to harness the force more easily there_. Rey knew what she had to do.

* * *

 

"General Hux, Kylo Ren has contacted base - he has found the girl."

Captain Phasma informed him with a curt nod, Hux smiled menacingly,

"Inform the Supreme Leader, he will be most pleased when we finally get that little scavenger bitch."

Phasma repeated her stance with a "Yes, sir." Not that Hux took a liking to anyone, and you would think he secretly rooted for enemies of Kylo Ren having a particular distaste for him, but he hated this girl with a passion. The girl who somehow aided in the destruction of Starkiller Base. The girl who was the one person to resist the power of Kylo Ren's interrogation. The girl who somehow defeated an experienced force user of years at the first yield of a lightsaber! He could go on but his thought process was interrupted.

"Sir, we are preparing to land in Tatooine."

"Excellent."

He swelled his chest toward the window to their new ship, preparing himself physically and mentally for the choosing of the newborns to become the next wave of loyal storm trooper trainees.

* * *

 

Poe Dameron sped as fast as he could towards the co-ordinates General Organa had given himself amongst a very select few of the most elite resistance pilots and fighters in the galactic forces. He'd been working on the engines of his X-wing with Finn for quite some time, so his ship was making a considerable distance further, faster.

"I'm coming for you Rey, I won't let him hurt you or Luke. We're almost there."

Poe told Rey and tried to make out the static return,

"Please hurry Poe, Luke's already left in search of him."

Rey lifted the Falcon up overhead fluidly as she saw Kylo Ren's command ship fast approaching, she cussed as he'd opened fire. She was a fair pilot but she felt stronger on the ground. She was just glad he was tailing her and not Luke. She swept the Falcon to its side to face him and hovered over the controls attempting to open fire herself. _How am I supposed to orchestrate an attack singlehandedly?!_ She thought panic-stricken. In an attempt to calm herself, she tried to harness the power of the force and after a few half seconds she manipulated what she failed to reach manually with the force and opened fire.

_It doesn't have to be this way, if you leave with me now._

"Over my dead body!"

She spat vehemently, knowing he could hear her one way or another.

_Well, not yours. But if a dead body is what it takes._

_Oh no, Luke!_ She thought petrified, sensing him nearby and nearing, _come on Rey! You can do this!_ She thought as she grit her teeth. She abruptly landed the Falcon to get onto the ground, coaxing Kylo out of the confines of his ship as she stepped out. It felt as if time itself had slowed dramatically as she drew out and ignited her crystal blue saber simultaneously with the landing of Kylo's ship, the blast door opening with tendrils of steam that appeared to unveil his tall dark figure in his chrome mask.

"And I thought Luke Skywalker was sure footed."

His modulated tone chilled, Rey's grip tightened,

"Are you just going to make snide comments?!"

Rey could feel it again, the sheer anger she felt that came when she heard his voice, modulated or not. It coursed through her as she remembered Han Solo's limp form plummeting off the bridge on StarKiller Base. Kylo, emotionless, just watching his own father fall after having murdered him himself.

"As my power is growing, it's becoming far easier for me to access your mind, Scavenger. This may be easier than I'd thought after all."

He said robotically, igniting his crimson saber. _Don't let him get to you, Rey!_ She chided herself, this is exactly what he wants. He stood there, seemingly waiting for her to move first but why? She wondered.

"Luke Skywalker cannot save you from across the waters."

And with that, she was reminded of a similar comment he'd made after murdering his father - _'It's just us now, Han Solo can't save you.'_ Rey growled as she ran towards him, almost hacking down her lightsaber from almost jumping towards him. As their sabers collided, sparks flew in a haphazard and she wished she could look into his eyes for him to see the full effect of her glare. She swung around and struck his saber again, making multitudinous offensive moves only to be blocked but not attacked. She tried and tried but he was much faster now and she begun to grow restless and almost sloppy as she struck his saber until she stopped for air as he still failed to strike himself.

"What are you doing?!"

But he didn't have to answer. She already knew. She stood incredulous at her realisation. _He's trying to use you, to get you to tap into the dark side._

"Very good, Scavenger. Perhaps you're not as naive as I thought. Though there is much work needed with your attacks."

His 'teachings' really rubbed her the wrong way and she fought so very hard not to strike again, at least through anger. _Where are you, Poe?!_

"Your little Pilot friends would have been met by TIEs by now. Come with me."

She was suddenly reminded of her nightmare how he'd almost kindly said those three words. _Come with me_. Only now he was masked and it was a demand, not a beckoning request. She poised to attack again but he tersely brought his arm up towards her, incapacitating her with the force.

"I guess it does have to be the hard way."

And with that he'd swiftly flicked his hand to the sky and she was knocked unconscious, vaguely aware of his gloved hands touching her, holding her. She wanted nothing more than to kick and scream as she rated him to be somewhere near Unkarr Plutt with creatures she wanted holding her, in contact with her skin.

Luke ran as fast as his legs could carry him, how could he have been so foolish?! How could he have possibly fallen for the feigned presence of Kylo Ren being on another isle entirely?! He'd never anticipated that Rey would stay though, for once _just once_ he thought she would actually listen but it was all his fault all over again. And as he'd fallen to his knees in a clearing upon a high hill, he ran his hands through his hair and tugged as he watched Kylo Ren's command ship just before cranking into hyper speed, he thought to himself it's happening, it's all actually happening.


	3. The Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it's not too short again, my laptop is still broken so doing this on my notes on my Ipad and there isnt a word count haha and the one on here confuses me XD as always, hope you enjoy!

Poe Dameron pumped his fist to the air as he whooped at the TIE he'd sent burning into the void.

"Take that, Snoke Bastard!"

He beamed as he was temporarily lost in the fight, as he usually is. Until he remembered why they were here in the first place, especially as he saw Kylo Ren's command shuttle leave the atmosphere of the planet and prepare to drop into Hyperspace.

"NO! REY! LUKE?!"

He screamed, as Kylo's ship sped away. He slammed his fists randomly on his control board,

"Goddammit!"

He panted as he felt his chest tighten. He allowed himself few moments to breathe until he decided to land on the planet, to see if either of them could have been possibly left there, however unlikely that may be... _Are they even alive?_ He pushed that thought vehemently from his mind as he prepared to land.

"I'm gonna see if their still down there."

He raised his voice to the rest of his pilots at his sides, _what was left of them anyway_ , he thought grimly. They voiced their assent as he prepared to break through the atmosphere.

* * *

 

Leia's hand flew to her heart at his words, watching Luke's tortured hologram.

"I'm sorry, sister. I've failed you again."

She shook her head in determination,

"No, Luke. Don't you say that, you have never failed me. And if I can't get her back to you before Snoke gets to her, then I will have failed you."

"I'm coming back, Poe Dameron has found me - he lost members of his squadron but they ultimately defeated the TIE's Kylo -"

Leia couldn't stop the wince that resonated through her at her son's _false_ name.

"- had used as a distraction, he must have known or at least prepared for such a feat."

Leia nodded slightly,

"Thank you for the update, Luke. Send Poe my regards and I hope to see you both soon."

She flourished in the most authoritative, formal tone that she could muster before turning off the hologram and propelling herself away, her palm meeting her forehead. _Oh, Rey_. Rey was - and still is - like the daughter she never had and the news devestated Leia. As she heard footsteps near, she lifted her gaze upon Finn, whom she had sensed. His face said it all, and all she could do was give and almost imperceptible shake of her head.

* * *

 

"NO! No _please_! Please don't take my baby away!"

A slave woman on Tatooine begged like a moaning cat as she clawed towards her baby boy, never to be cradled by her again. Her sallow skin and sunken eyes somehow grew more distraught at this realisation and yet she never gave in. Until finally one of the storm troopers which had gruffly kept her arms from flailing butted her head with the hilt of his blaster and she was knocked unconscious. They dragged her away with the others in which their infants were harvested by the troopers.

Captain Phasma maintained her steely stance as she stood taking and giving orders during this time. She'd taken it upon herself to see through this order and she couldn't begin to fathom as to why she had immensely regretted this decision. General Hux was keeping a vexingly close watch on her though, as she had ordered her troops this way and that with which ones Hux wanted. It was easier for her to focus on her duty if she de-personalised the situation as much as she could. At one point she saw one of her troopers dangle a child by it's left leg as he ripped it away from another slave.

"Be _careful_ you insolent fool!"

She spat, annunciating each syllable and the trooper immediately bowed his head and held the child more appropriately. Phasma felt Hux's eyes on her, even from the ship docked meters away, so she added tersely,

"Don't damage them before they've even developed or they won't grow to be strong enough, and we'd be wasting our time."

"Yes, Captain."

And with that he jogged away with yet another child. Phasma tried not to look into the eyes of the slaves that had lost their children, tried not to dwell on the fact that they could have possibly been the one good thing they had in their lives, the one thing to fight for. She tried not to question what it was exactly she was fighting for, in this instance. She glanced up at the command ship and sure enough, General Hux's eyes were still trained on her, his icy eyes seemed askance and unforgiving.

* * *

 

"I have the girl."

Kylo Ren's voice almost distorted over hologram.

"Good, I will inform the Supreme Leader when we return to base from Tatooine."

General Hux's droning voice always seemed to annoy Kylo, unfortunately the hologram didn't make the sound any more appealing.

"Collecting more treacherous, unreliable human beings?"

Kylo stood by his belief that the replication of more clones was the answer, FN-2187 being the perfect example as to why - _What is it he goes by nowadays? Flynn?_ Kylo didn't know, nor did he really care. That trooper was next to useless to him. He argued to himself that this was the reason he had let him go in that village when he had saw him in his uniform for the last time, as he had hesitated to follow through his order to kill the villagers, his helmet streaked with crimson...

"Perhaps you'll stop _questioning_ my methods when you remember to follow through with your own, or is it that you need to be reminded of who saved your arse when StarKiller base was blown to smithereens when you could hardly stand? Beaten by _that girl_."

Kylo was brought to reality with Hux's snide comment, grateful he was unable to see how he took the comment having been wearing his mask.

"Careful, she might be awake. I certainly won't stop her when she attacks you."

 _That shut him up_ , Kylo smirked and turned off the hologram. He was done with Hux and he loved having the last word. He stalked to where he was keeping the Scavenger prisoner and saw that she was stirring but still asleep - well, unconscious. Kylo couldn't help but ponder over the enigma in which was this girl. _She must be much stronger now, no doubt_ , he thought. He knew the truth behind her lineage and he was one of few. _I wonder how she'll take the betrayal from her so called **friends**_ , he thought as he tried not to remember how he took his news over Darth Vader...

"What do you want?"

Rey asked tiredly from the interrogation chair, as she slowly met his stony mask that matched his tone,

"Well I no longer seek a map to Luke Skywalker. We don't need him anymore."

More like he wasn't a main priority anymore, but he wasn't going to tell her the reason behind that.

"And yet you're keeping him alive, you haven't even tried to kill him."

She challenged and not that she could see but Kylo almost wore a dark, impish grin.

"Luke Skywalker is not wanted dead. Yet."

 _Let her try and figure that one out_ , he thought. He took advantage of her hesitation and whispered,

"I wonder..."

He tried pushing into her mind and saw her thoughts were on her friends... The traitor, the mind numbing pilot... The General Organa and Skywalker. And he was met by a mental block, impressed by her speed this time around. He let out a robotic snicker,

"How quaint, you still believe they're your friends... I did try to warn you. I am impressed with your newfound agility, though."

He sensed her defiance and lack of trust, easily figured from her frown though.

"You still don't believe me. Oh well, you'll see, in time."

He mused and Rey's confusion only built but she stopped herself and snarled,

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!"

She struggled against the restraints at her wrists. He smiled deviously until he was irked when she started pushing back mentally. He blocked her out as he rose to his feet, tutting,

"Oh no, Scavenger. I can't show you just yet."

 _Show me what?_ She thought, puzzled by his ever fluctuating persona.

"You'll see."

He turned on his heel and was inches from the door when,

"Take off your mask."

She blurted unintentionally and was uncertain as to if she regretted her words. He paused for a long moment and slowly looked over his shoulder to her,

"Why? What do you think you'll see when I do?"

A strong wave of pain shot through her at his words, knowing that the last time he'd said that was to his father. _Did he know this too? He must. Did he deliberately make me think of Han? Oh no, not going to get away with everything so easily this time_ , she thought.

"The scar I gave you when I defeated you and left you to worm away like the creature you are."

She said fighting the urge to well up. Even if he could sense it there was no way that she would let him see her cry, even through frustration. He turned around fully this time and stood still for what felt like forever.

"You may think that I'm afraid, but my training has conditioned me to fear nothing. You can surely sense my grown strength, as I can yours. You've mistaken the reason that you are currently alive."

He spoke deftly before slowly removing his mask, painfully slow in doing so, and he dropped it to the floor. His dark features as stony as his mask. Rey tried not to dwell on the thought of what he could have possibly meant by that, but he told her anyway through the mind,

_You're only alive because Snooke wants you to be._

"So he wants to use me like he is you?"

She challenged and he swiftly retrieved his helmet, about to storm out the room when she added with a raised but shaky voice,

"I _won't_ be a slave."

He turned over his shoulder to leave her with,

"Then I don't know why you began training under Skywalker in the first place."

She frowned, _what?_ But he had already left. She was tempted to probe through his mind, to test their supposed 'Force Bond' to seek the answer but she didn't want to have him anywhere near her thoughts anymore, or to hear his voice one way or another. But it was becoming harder and harder to not listen to his words, as she couldn't sense a lie or pretence and what she could, was the sheer, hard cold truth that rang within.


	4. The Visions

"I don't think it's going to be made so simple for her to escape this time around, Finn."

Luke glowered at the plans that were projected afore them in the military panel room back on the Resistance base.

"I doubt she will be guarded by storm troopers now, Ben's too smart to let that happen again."

Leia missed the askance glances that were shot her way by a few members around the projection as she spoke numbly. Luke placed a heavy hand to her shoulder momentarily. Only then was Leia awoken from her reverie to see the somewhat bewildered expressions from most in the room. But Leia didn't care. _I know the light is there, I just know it. Oh, Ben... My boy. If only I could see your face again, just once..._

"Come on guys, this is Rey we're talking about here! We know her, she won't fight for - Snoke in a million years!"

Poe resisted the words 'Kylo' and 'Ren' or even the phrase 'Ben Solo' for Leia's sake, but it back-fired anyway.

"And I thought I knew my nephew, Leia her _son_. Please don't take this the wrong way Poe, but you simply wouldn't understand without being force sensitive yourself."

Luke voiced seriously, eyeing Leia wistfully. Poe scratched the back of his neck and remained silent. The air remained an awkward silence until Finn spoke up quietly to no one in particular,

"So what do we do?"  
_____________

Rey was being torn apart by her thoughts. She was tired, oh so tired. Tired of not knowing the truth that she deserved to know, all kinds of truths that are seemingly being kept from her.

 _You can always ask, Scavenger_.

 _Ask you what?_ She pushed back through her mind, hoping she might have been able to pull it off this time around.

_Congratulations, I heard you._

_Ask you what?!_ She repeated, vexed. _As if you would tell the truth._

_You know, Rey, I'm not actually being 'rude' this time._

Rey was temporarily thrown off with the use of her real name for the first time, albeit in an increasingly irate tone, then she straightened her posture and continued to glower in her interrogation chair.

 _You need to stop that_.

_Stop what?_

_I can't keep up with your mood swings and it's annoying me. I don't even know why I'm even talking to you right now at all._

She wriggled, restrained in the stupid chair. God she hated this thing, it was so uncomfortable.

 _As I said, you need only ask_.

She laughed darkly to herself. _What, please oh **please** Monster Ren may I be released from this fucking prison cell?! _ She laid on thickly with sarcasm _._

_Sharp tongue for a desert flower._

He sneered his last word in their minds, knowing he thought her a desert rodent if anything. Ordinarily, Rey would further argue her case, for she was being mocked right now. But as said, Rey was just too tired.

_I can sense you're drain of energy, you must eat._

_I'm not hungry -_

But it was too late, Kylo had already stepped into the room with food rations and a bottle of water.

"It's been almost three days, eat."

She scowled at his masked face and flicked her gaze to her restraints sarcastically. He waved his hands over them, releasing her.

"Perhaps you'll actually give in to your basic human needs this time. You've even started to make me hungry."

 _Good_ , she thought sardonically. He suddenly removed his mask, to her utter surprise, with an unreadable expression plastered on his features.

"You know, I don't have to read your mind to know that you're putting on some sort of act. But what I am curious to know, is as to _why_ you are."

In the long silence that followed, they just stared each other down. Rey waited for him to try to take the information by force... But he didn't... So she grabbed a food sachet of force only knows what and pretended to occupy herself with opening and eating. He was still standing there... So she peered up at him.

"Why do you want to know?"

She asked, with unintended fervour, deciding it's no use lying to him and denying to herself. It had been playing on her mind for quite some time now, and it was easier to remember the death of Han Solo and distract herself with the fuel of disdain towards his murderer and use it to fight to stay occupied... Than to address the problem within that ripped her in half each waking moment.

"Don't worry, I feel it too."

She met his eyes for a moment and noticed the unequivocal vulnerability that lay within and they reached a mutual understanding during the intensely charged air, though it was somewhat temporary as she composed herself and scoffed,

"Do you have a limited vocabulary? You have a habit of repeating yourself."

Recalling he'd once said something of the sort. He smirked for half a second, then placed his mask back upon his face and left without another word. Rey couldn't stop herself from wondering why he didn't try to force through her mind at her deepest, darkest secretive core as they'd done to each other so many times before. And why he just left without saying some kind of snarky retort. And, of course, he'd left her restraints unlocked.  
________________

"The Scavenger girl is almost ready, I can sense her questioning the meaning of the light and the dark."

General Hux strained his neck to meet the onyx gaze and rasped voice of the giant hologram of the Supreme Leader above him. Kylo Ren's initial name for the girl had stuck with those of the New Empire to avoid her name, with their own spin on it mostly, Hux for example liked calling her 'Scavenger Bitch' or more fluidly, 'Scavenger Scum'.

"Supreme Leader, shall I begin to make preparations for her... _Conditioning_ upon their expected arrival within the next week?"

Snoke considered his words a moment, slowly reaching his great hand to rub his crooked chin. He spoke slowly but surely,

"Not yet, I want her brought to me here first. For I shall commence it for you."

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

Hux said with a swift bow.

"And General,"

Snoke continued, Hux lifted his eyes to him with a repeat of what he'd said, only in questioning.

"We may need to recondition Kylo Ren, for I sense he still struggles with certain... Compassions..."

Hux cocked his brows,

"Compassions, sir?"

Snoke continued, his voice eerie,

"He is still conflicted between the light and the dark and the shared qualities between himself and the scavenger girl could be his downfall."

He suddenly chuckled darkly, almost jumping Hux,

"And he is a man, after all."

Hux frowned again, unsure of his words. But the Supreme Leader is ever wise and knowing, so he chose not to question him. Snoke smiled through his shredded, grey cheeks with an evident malice and with the flickering disappearance of Snoke's hologram, Hux turned on his heel to leave the room. Though puzzled, Hux couldn't deny his small pride in the thought of surpassing Kylo Ren when it came down to control. _As if that would be a first though,_ he thought smugly.  
___________________

Rey waited until she could sense Kylo sleeping wherever he may be until she crept her way through the ship, navigating her way to an escape pod. She did her best to remain calm, and take the task step by step as not to immediately think about being rid of this place and this person, not wanting to wake him.

Her heart beat grew erratic as she sensed him stir, she ever so gently tapped into his mind, only to be met by the realisation that he was having a nightmare... _He's still asleep, good._ She thought as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and wiped away the beads of perspiration that gathered at her hairline.

She stealthily made her way to a pod, sure footed, and begun working her way through the various alarms and controls in order to set it up to take her to the nearest planet. She could see it from her cell window, it's large, murky grey atmosphere was unknown to her, but she was a survivor - anything was better to live with than being taken to Snoke.

Everything from that moment happened so quickly and she could hardly recollect the events fully, feeling as if she were in a kind of haze as she evacuated the ship via the pod into space to the mysterious planet afore her, and in doing so, sensing Kylo Ren awakening even though he was still in Hyperdrive - _how can I sense him when he is already so far away?_ She had no time to dwell, as she soon had to prepare for landing.

As she tried her best to ease her landing, she took a brief moment to survey her surroundings - tall thin trees with stiff limbs, and lack of forrest floor - lot's of grey, being clouded by the colour. She dubiously stepped out of the pod and looked to the stormy sky, it's bowel of blackness threatening the imminence of it. She ran her way through the trees and was quickly met by a large cliff face, the headland leading to a long, rocky edge.

 _Where can you make shelter, Rey?_ She asked herself as she pulled another food sachet from her bag that she stole from a burlap sack she also stole. It had to be somewhere near a food - relatively simple - and water source - not so much necessarily. There didn't seem to be any immediate civilisation. Until she sensed a shift occur behind her as she swallowed.

"The scavenger girl. We've heard so very much about you."

She whipped around at the chilling voice and was met by five or six tall figures, cloaked in black and all masked - not an inch of flesh visible. I'm that moment, a lightning bolt struck the ground beside them in the trees and illuminated their being whilst simultaneously jumping Rey out of her skin. These enigmatic figures did not move an inch though.

"Who are you?"

She implored but to no avail. They'd wordlessly ignited bright red sabers stiffly, almost waiting. Rey instinctively reached for the hilt of her lightsaber - _SHIT! MY LIGHTSABER! Where is it?!_ She panicked. She sifted through her thoughts, trying desperately to figure out where it could have possibly wound up until something worse had happened. She had once again sensed the ever approaching presence of Kylo Ren.

"Master Ren, perfect timing."

Another mused in a steely voice. Rey's stomach dropped at the sight of his command ship soaring overhead. _How could i have been so foolish as to forget to try to block him from my mind?_ And thus, her whereabouts. Another lightening bolt sounded, starting a heavy rain that begun to fall. Something dawned on her,  _What if he took it somehow?_ She thought, _but how would I not realise this?_ The mysterious figures afore her where on the higher ground of the headland, and she debated finding a makeshift staff to hold them off with... Until it would get cut through like a knife through a stick of butter with their light sabers. Just as she was rapidly conjuring ways of escape, Kylo Ren had emerged from the thick foliage along to her side, igniting his lightsaber in rigid movements as he stormed over.

"Did you really think that you would escape so easily?"

His usual somewhat bored tone under his mask was thick with rage. In that moment she wanted to push into his mind, to see if he really did take her saber, but anger strengthened his power of the dark side so it would have been pointless. The rain grew torrential and she struggled to keep it out of her eyes. It went against everything she was, but she was no match for all these force users of the dark without so much as a stick, so she turned on her heel and ran. There was no way she would get past them back to her pod, so she ran towards the edge of the headland, hoping it wasn't that far down a fall.

As she ran through to the stony terrain she was too panicked to register fast enough just how slippery the surface had become and couldn't save herself from her fall. Unfortunately, as she slipped her left calf caught on a great shard of rock, creating a sizeable gash upon her leg as it ripped through her flesh when she crashed to the hard, soaked ground, taking quite the tumble down the rocky terrain. _Stop being so foolish, Rey!_ She chided herself harshly. She tried to right herself as soon as she could manage, trying to force out of her mind just how unbearable the pain was.

Suddenly she could sense them closer to her than ever and tried to force blast them away from her. She managed to knock a few off their feet but most of them, including Kylo, had waved it off as they continued towards her. Though now losing the element of surprise, she tried and tried to force push them, knock them out, you name it, as she stepped backwards trying her best to ward them away until she felt her body weight shift over the edge and her adrenaline coursed through her to save her from falling. It was a very, _very_ long way down... Her heart dropped.

By this point she had lost a lot of energy, as well as blood and as she sunk to the floor she noticed the crimson red liquid dripping from her left wrist as well. She didn't even realised she'd cut there when she fell, couldnt even feel it now. She allowed herself to choke the sob that she'd been holding back with the fight to survive, as they neared her through the sheeting rain. _So this is it then_ , she thought, angrily somehow.

"But Master Ren, look at her! How feeble she can be!"

"Surely she is better off dead! We can't use her!"

She'd heard the various voices of contempt from around her, but all she focused on was giving Kylo the death glare. If she were to die, she would at least die with what remaining dignity she had left.

"As. I. Said. The girl isn't to be executed. Snoke still wants her."

She couldn't help but notice the hesitation before that was tacked on the end. Her death glare was somewhat hindered for a moment. Rey tried to stand but the pain in her left leg shot through her unbearably, the adrenaline from running having left her system and she crumpled to the floor again facing the cliff's edge trying not to wince too audibly. Just in doing so she felt an excruciating pain scathe a burning crater up her back, pushing her to the floor along with,

"How could Snoke want this?!"

She rolled over her side and propped herself on her elbow, trying to avoid as much rain on it as possible, realising one had struck her with their saber. This one was a few feet before the rest now from doing so and half seconds after what he did, Kylo had thrusted his lightsaber straight through the middle of the knight. He seemingly writhed in the air for a few moments before sinking to the ground. Rey couldnt help but watch in astonishment as the knight fell to his knees, wheezing his last breath through his mask. Their gazes met from the body at the same time and Rey questioned what had just happened right before her very eyes. Was this what she had seen the very first time she touched Luke's saber?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, really hope you guys like it, sorry if it's short but aiming to post regularly to make up for it and I hope you guys liked the last bit, I really wanted to include the Knights of Ren but I'm much better at fluffy romance sometimes XD so hopefully it's at least ok!! 
> 
> PS: I know it isn't a knight of Ren that Kylo kills in Rey's force vision canonically but this is fanfiction XD and I wanted to play around with the idea of Kylo killing one of his knights to make sure they didn't kill Rey first... *~*


	5. The Blurr

Rey winced for the hundredth time as she tried wrapping the gauze around the shredded flesh at her calf. Her head whipped up to see Kylo stalking in, she hadn't even sensed him she was so preoccupied with her thoughts.

"How you survived on a desert planet for this long on your own I'll never know."

He commented, clearly feeling the pain she was currently experiencing and thus, taking it out on her.

"I thought you could take whatever you wanted."

She recalled numbly as she continued to try and wrap her leg. _As if she'd come across a force user at all before on Jakku anyway_ , she thought sarcastically. He'd stepped forward to where she sat upon a type of gurney on his ship. The last thing she remembered was Ren skewering one of his own knights for striking her, she'd been out for two days and they haven't moved since. It was also the last she'd heard of his Knights...

"What are you doing?!"

She spat as he reached for her leg. He looked up at her with cocked brows, his mouth a thin line, _Really?_ She heard him say, in her mind. She continued to frown at him, still firmly in place away from him.

"Even after I save you, you still think I'm going to try to harm you."

He dropped his gaze with a sardonic snort.

"I'm interested in your definition of _saving_ , to me your just dragging out my end."

 _Snoke_ , he thought as she said these words. He paused for a brief moment, unable to meet her penetrating gaze. Until he shifted his eyes to her calf once more and unwrapped the gauze that currently lay limply around it and rewrapped it properly, slowly as though tending to a wild animal that could strike at any moment if the wrong move was made. Rey watched him fastidiously as he concentrated on wrapping her leg. He never met her gaze but he knew it was there.

Throughout the silent and somewhat intimate moment, though clinical, Rey shifted her wondering gaze over the faint pink line of a scar that she gave him, and for the first time felt a strange and uncomfortable pang as she thought about it... He momentarily stiffened and froze, then continued to gently tend to her leg.

 _How could a monster have such healing hands?_ She mused briefly before chastising herself to push the thought away. Whether he heard her or not, he chose not to comment on it. She began to relax though, as it became less and less likely that he was going to end up harming her, as she'd first thought. She almost jumped when his brown eyes met hers again,

"How's your back?"

"It's fine."

She said automatically. She tried to ignore the way the shredded fabric of her clothes hung loosely, even more so at the soreness of the burn up her spine. She'd managed to bind her wrist alright but seemingly failed elsewhere... But the truth is, she didn't want to even start to think about what condition her back was in... She was confused at Kylo's expression when he spoke,

"I'll uh, see to it that some kind of _female_ medic can tend to you from this planet... Somewhere... And new clothing..."

He rose from his lowered stance that Rey didn't even notice he'd been in and begun to leave the room. She thought for a moment and came to realise he must have assumed she would ask him to help wrap her torso with gauze after some kind of treatment... She couldn't help the flush of embarrassment that flooded her cheeks and an uncomfortable twist resided in her stomach as she crossed her arms over her chest tightly. It was good that he'd left the room, as suddenly all she'd wanted was to be alone -  _in privacy,_ she corrected.

* * *

Luke sat crossed legged near the meadow not far from the Resistance base in order to meditate with more serene surroundings. He'd managed to focus for a while, the calm of the warm breeze floating tendrils of his hair every now and then was welcoming to him. Eventually though, he couldn't ignore the disturbance in the force. He sensed a great deal of confusion, a blurred line between the light and the dark growing murkier as the days and weeks wore on.

"Leia, have we any luck with finding her?"

He asked soothingly, maintaining the tranquility he somehow managed to acquire, as he sensed her approach him. She stood a meter or so behind him, her eyes upon the beautiful meadow.

"I remember the look on Rey's face when I first showed her this,"

She reminisced, a smile tugging the corners of her mouth,

"After she returned from StarKiller Base with Finn and Chewbacca, and we'd embraced each other,"

She tried not to think about the missing member of that crew,

"It was as if everything was indeed made better, even if only for a while."

The silence between grew but it wasn't uncomfortable. That is, until Luke addressed what was really on their minds,

"I can't say I know what you are going through, sister, but I don't understand how you are not hurt by your son after what he did."

Luke didn't need to turn to face her to know how a great pang of distress shot through her. Luke couldn't deny that he himself was constantly reminded of Han Solo, his oldest, dearest friend. He still remembers when they fought in the rebellion all those years ago, how Han would call him 'Kid' even though he wasn't that much younger, in some of his earliest memories of Han... How much worse it must be for Leia...

"That's because it wasn't my son that killed Han, I'm telling you Luke it's _Snoke_ \- don't you feel it? In the Force?"

She stepped forward to meet his gaze fervently now, and after a moment he glowered to the ground in thought.

"I don't know, Leia... Either way, darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that and him being with Snoke denies him of it completely."

Leia stood defiantly,

"You're right Luke, darkness can not drive out darkness. But you know the purest form of the Light?"

He looked at her with a strange questioning glance,

"Love."

She smiled as she whispered passionately, she continued in his hesitation,

" _Love_ , Luke. I'm not saying in what way, but it needs to be strong enough to out-do Snoke's poison in my son's mind. We need to _love_ Ben better than we did before,"

Her eyes suddenly grew somber,

"Better than I did before... He must have felt so neglected... A lot of things have happened that were not intended or have been misunderstood, now it's our turn to find a way to reach my son."

Luke sat incredulous at her words. _How in the heck where they going to manage that?!_ He thought.

* * *

 

" _You're_ _late_."

General Hux said through his teeth in the utmost repulsive voice, _as usual_ thought Kylo.

"You better hope that you have a good enough explanation for this, Ren."

"Suppose I didn't, what would you do then, General?"

Kylo was grateful that he was wearing his helmet, it always seemed to intimidate Hux more when he had it's modulated voice to aid him. Hux swallowed and regained himself,

"Not what _I'd_ do, but the Supreme Leader. He questions you're allegiance to the New Empire still, senses your _weaknesses_ with your control."

Kylo gripped the back of the chair he stood behind tightly, anger bubbling beneath the surface. When he'd calmed himself enough, trying to reply before Hux unveiled his ridiculous 'triumphant grin', he replied sounding almost bored,

"The girl tried to escape and was attacked."

He said vaguely, Hux frowned,

"Oh? Not what you were expecting?"

Kylo said sarcastically but still managed to maintain such chilling qualities to his voice and demeanour. Hux shook his head violently and scoffed,

"No matter, bring the girl unharmed. I shall inform the Supreme Leader."

"See that you do, General."

And with that, Kylo didn't wait for a response as he turned off the hologram and whisked to his sleeping quarters. He'd roughly rinsed away the blood caked in his fingers - _wait, what?_ He looked again and there was blood oozing and congealing all on his arms and he couldn't get rid of it fast enough before more would spurt down on him... Like it was coming from the ceiling... He peered above himself after looking through the small mirror at his haggard expression to see his Fath - Han Solo on the ceiling, the blood dripping from his middle... Right where his own saber penetrated him, his eyes dead and cold to the world.

Kylo tripped back with a start, waking up, he shot up from his bed panting. He frantically searched his hands, flipping them over and over again in the dim light available from the stars for any signs of the nightmare to be remotely plausible, _it felt so real._ He raised his palm to his slick hairline and tried to slow his breathing, A ghostly chill shivered up his spine. He couldn't seem to shake away the morbidity that loomed over him.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat for a short while. He removed his shirt, the very material cloying to him. He didn't even remember falling asleep. In that moment, he was aware that Rey was awake, because of him or not he wasn't certain. Until he felt her press into his mind, _is that what keeps you awake at night?_ Though her voice was surprisingly soft, especially considering the nightmare itself, he said sharply,

"Leave me!"

But she wouldn't.

 _It's ok to mourn, you know._ She said calmly and distantly, in his mind. Now he was the confused one,

_Are you... Trying to console me? Why are you talking to me?_

_He was your father, Ben, you loved him too, once._ She said with the same almost deflated tone. He pegged that as the fact she had seen his nightmare herself somehow, what he couldn't fathom was how he'd been referred to by his old name, especially by Rey. He was too confused and too exhausted with the pain of his nightmare to think of anything to say further, so he said,

_I'm sorry I disturbed you._

And with that, he put up his mental wall again with the added strength of not being unconsciously vulnerable, and he watched the stars out of his window not bothering to ask sleep to find him.

* * *

 "General Organa, we think we found her!"

Snap Wexley exclaimed to the general who was back at the base awaiting this news for what felt like a lifetime. Her hand flew to her chest,

"Oh thank goodness! We're gonna track your ship, Snap - do we need to send recruitments?"

"No, we should be good, it's just one ship - no TIE's or Empire."

She bit her lip at the thought of them somehow being unpleasantly surprised, though.

"Don't worry, General. We've got this covered."

Poe Dameron chimed in, guessing at what her hesitation had led her thoughts to. The General nodded and sighed before switching off the line,

"Alright, best of luck to you all. We'll be in touch."

"It's just Kylo Ren 'escorting Rey to Snoke', right?"

Jessika Pava tuned in to the boys, who both stated that it were in fact the case. Either way she couldn't help but feel a little nervous over the fact that it was still _Kylo Ren_... Jess noticed the apparent imminence of the red dot on her scanners.

"Alright guys, there it is, let's go."

Poe lilted, ever excited by adventure, and even danger of all kinds...

* * *

"How did you even find us anyway?"

Rey asked Kylo curiously as he watched her eat atop her gurney, his expression quite blank until she'd asked this.

"What?"

"How did you find me and Luke on Ach-To? I thought that's why you needed that map or something all that time ago."

She said almost accusingly, his frown eventually melted to a smug grin,

"When our powers grew I didn't need a map to find you. I found you through our Force Bond and I knew you were with Skywalker to train, hence to growth in your strength - however unfortunately marginal."

She scowled at him,

"Luke is a great Jedi Master! I'm stronger than I ever was!"

"I just claimed your growth, even though he isn't teaching you everything."

He glowered back. Her brow creased in thought as she came to realise why that must be, _it's because of what happened before, when he tried to train the new generation of Jedi..._ Kylo visibly winced at her thoughts so she continued, unwilling to give up now she was finally getting some answers that she sadly knew to be true.

"Which reminds me, where is my lightsaber?!"

She raised her voice at the memory of when she was attacked by his bloody Knights without so much as a stone to throw. He almost laughed, _actually almost laughed - however sardonic the sound may have been_ Rey mused as he pulled out the hilt from under his cloak somewhere, holding it in his palm,

"I took it from you when you first boarded in the hope of avoiding your escape."

As she went to grab her saber from his gloved Palm, he snatched it back up with raised brows of distrust as he placed it back firmly under his cloak.

"You don't think i'm stupid enough to not make sure you can't get your hands on it, do you?"

He quipped, thick with sarcasm.  _Dammit_ , she thought and he smirked again... _Seemingly genuinely?_ Rey continued,

"And how come Snoke couldn't just find me then?"

"Just because Snoke's in my head doesn't mean he can tap into yours the same way, for now at least"

He said grimly. _There, right there,_ Rey thought. _That vulnerability._

"Wanna know what I think?"

He glowered at her, askance.

"I think your not as dark as you want people to believe."

She almost whispered, diverting her attention to him fully from her food. His mouth quivered infinitesimally and the air around them was notably charged somehow, creating a strange sensation she was unable to explain through her awareness and connection to the force, to _him_. Their gazes were ripped from each other at the sights and sounds of three Resistance X-wings soaring around the ship. _My friends!_ Rey exclaimed internally, but she couldn't decide whether she was ecstatic to see them, or terrified that they dared challenged Kylo Ren...

 

 

 


	6. The Window

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update!! It's been really hectic for me lately trying to sort out stuff for college/sixth form so haven't had as much time but here it is! Chapter 6, whilst it may be a tiny bit longer, I wouldn't know because my laptop is still busted :( - hope you enjoy!

"Dameron! Do you read? Fall back, now! Fall back!"

Admiral Ackbar exclaimed from the military panel room back on base after Snap Wexley and Jessika Pava had already taken fatal hits to their x-wings, and their communication systems were down. Poe can only hope that they got themselves out fast enough that they recieve the urgent medical attention that is surely required. _But we're so far out... No, come on Poe, focus they'll be fine!_ He thought as he tightened his grip.

"I can't let him take Rey!"

Poe yelled but with a hint of the uselessness of his argument tinged within, he was well aware that if he were to help his crew as well as himself, he had to leave. Now. But that didn't stop him from remembering how Rey and Finn brought BB-8 back to the resistance not only for the map to Luke, but for him. And over the short time he's known Rey they were indeed close friends and the thought of leaving her in the hands of him sent elusive shivers through his spine tainted with ferocious anger.

"Dameron. Fall back, now."

Luke's authoritative tone pulled him back from his thoughts, despondency tightening his chest as he signalled an 'alright.' And followed in his crew's tracks, leaving Rey to fend for herself on Kylo Ren's command ship. _For now_ , he thought. For he will be back for her and next time, he wont let the New Empire take her from them all.  
_________________

"STOP! You could kill them!"

Rey yanked Kylo by the shoulders as a last resort as he bent over the controls of his command ship, firing back at the three x-wings as they increased their level of assault. He gave up on shoving her away with the force, she kept coming back. _And she'll never give up on them,_ he thought with an internal eye roll.

 _You just don't know when to quit, do you, Scavenger?!_ He thought sharply.

She couldn't make a dent in his stance still, _he wasn't weak anymore_ she thought bitterly as her mind flit back to their battle upon Starkiller Base when he was struck with Chewie's bowcaster after... Rey didn't even think it. He swung around, so fast Rey was momentarily disorientated, ducking his head to meet her glare with his own as she neared him,

"And do _what_ exactly? Just let them fire and attack my ship?!"

Her hazel eyes softened infinitesimally as they flit across his onyx seeming ones, only for a moment as she said with a wavering voice,

"Don't kill them."

It was somehow halfway between a plea and a demand. Their eyes locked for only a moment but it felt frozen in time, an infinity in their tension until he almost growled and tensed his shoulders, his back now to her. But before he could make a difference in attack, their ships were already shrinking in the distance between the stars. He let out a sharp breath he didn't realise he was holding as he stared incredulously at the empty space out of the window, soon becoming hyperaware of Rey only a few inches from him.

He couldn't pin point the strange sensation that twinged in his chest and was curious if the same sensation was coursing through her at their proximity... He sensed that it was... The prolonged silence held them both in place inexplicably and their breathing was in tune with their heartbeats that seemed to slow. Suddenly, to avoid any further interaction, Kylo swiftly swept from the control room, leaving Rey to cast her eyes in his wake.

 _Thank you_ , she thought what she couldn't seem to say and she could only hope that he had heard her because he didn't seem to respond... Or so she begun to think, as just when she was giving up on the futile hope, he thought calmly back,

_I didn't do anything, they left._

_But i know you were going to listen, so thank you... Ben._

His heart skipped a beat at the use of his real name again. _Monster, Murderer, Kylo Ren, Ben -_ he began internally listing the names she had given him over their time together, from their first meeting to their week and a half or so alone together. He traced the faint pink scar that was forever carved across his face as he stared at his reflection.

There was no use asking her how she knew of his choice. Whilst one cannot lie to the other when sharing a Force Bond, depending on strength and ability it is still possible to keep certain thoughts and feelings from them - if you want it hidden bad enough. He hoped that Rey would understand this when he finally tells her about her lineage and all the darkness that revolves around it, and he wondered faintly if that was Ben Solo who wondered this, rather than Kylo Ren.

Rey felt adamantly at the fact that it was Ben Solo who chose to listen, Kylo Ren being overpowered, accepted albeit begrudgingly. She wondered if there may be a way to stop him from protruding the darkness that he so often emanated, that Ben Solo really could still exist for Leia's sake. Rey felt a strange pang in her chest as she thought it be a crime to forget Han Solo, whom he had killed. And suddenly it was easier to forget the possibility of Ben Solo.

*            *            *           *

Kylo twisted and turned in his sleep, though he thought he was having a nightmare, it felt far more real than one and somewhere deep in his subconscious he was aware of the fact that this was somehow fabricated...

"Kylo Ren,"

A deep, rasped voice spoke and Kylo's frantic gaze shifted upward to meet Snoke in the flesh... Sort of...

"Wh - where am i?"

He stuttered, confused. Snoke leaned forward over his seated position to continue,

"Your mind. I must speak. Are you still willing to take the Scavenger girl as your apprentice?"

Kylo weighed his words a moment with a furrowed brow, that never really changed - he did want to teach Rey. She had so much potential, and it meant he didn't have to kill her either - it would be a severe waste of talent otherwise.

"Yes, Master."

Snoke plastered a wicked grin upon his torn slush coloured skin as he croaked a laugh,

"Good. Avert your journey from me, take her to The New Empire to train her. When she is ready, bring her to me."

Kylo wasn't sure how he felt about this, _like most things, really_ \- he thought bitterly. He was always being torn apart. He peered up to Snoke again,

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

Before he thought he were to be released from this dream-like hypnotic state, Snoke called after him,

"And Ren, i want access to her mind. Make it so with your guidance."

He couldn't place why, but this comment rubbed Kylo the wrong way as the shiver ran through him, he nodded anyway before Snoke could dwell on his thoughts which were sure to be obvious. He was very wise indeed.

Kylo woke with a mild start and decided to fetch a vial of water. He was too hot to wear his shirt so he continued through the corridor in his black sweat pants that hung loosely at the hips. He padded down the corridor wiping at his eyes and sighed. Now that the Supreme Leader had recently been in his head, he assumed he would back off for a moment - which allowed Kylo to express how he really felt. Along with a sheer sense of nihilism, his thoughts easily wandered to his father.

 _I was promised i would feel relieved of this pain, that the power of the darkness would surge - consuming me._ He clenched the vial in his hand and smashed it on the ground as images of his father flashed across his mind. _Why did it have to be this way?_ He grabbed a fistful of his raven locks, half tempted to tear it from his skull as frustrated tears stung his eyes burrowing his sockets.

Kylo was so consumed by his self-torment that he hadn't even sensed Rey behind him, let alone hear her approach him in the dimness of the room. She had sensed his distress and as she watched the muscles in his back dance as he heaved, she indeed let curiosity get the better of her over when the larger more logical part of her mind was telling her what to do - which was turn away, run even. She took a cautious step forward, about to speak but as she stood on a shard of the broken glass vial, his head snapped over his shoulder.

"What do you want?"

She recoiled at his sudden movement but an apparent flare of anger ignited within her.

"I can feel your guilt, it's about time you felt something from it."

She couldn't quite bring herself to throw Han in his face as directly as she'd hoped for for some reason, as she had intended. But he still got the message, fortunately. He turned to her, his eyes livid and yet she knew they masked the truth. His sheer inner turmoil. She stood her ground, refusing to falter at this knowledge - _He deserves it, Rey, he killed Han his own flesh and blood..._

He growled in vexation as he turned away from her again, only then did she realise just how close they were to each other, how his form loomed over her own. She sensed a searing pain that shot through him as she'd thought what she did about him and Han. _But how could a Monster have any feelings such like this at all?_ She questioned.

"So i'm back to 'Monster' am i?"

He said sardonically. _At least he'd calmed down_ , she thought. She chose not to feel the silence that followed. Only to start carefully picking up the shards of glass from the ground and placing them fastidiously in her palm to not injure herself further. After a deep breath through his nose, Kylo eventually turned around to help her silently. When the glass was cleared they'd wordlessly left to their respective area's until something struck him,

"Why are you going to the interrogation room?"

He wondered if she was really well enough to be sitting in that chair instead of lying on the gurney. She shrugged,

"I don't need to stay in the hospital wing anymore, so..."

He thought about this a long moment. Finally with a roll of his dark eyes he stated sharply,

"You don't need to stay there anymore. We're changing course and you need to be well rested for when we arrive."

She creased her brows,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you can take a room and that we aren't going directly to Snoke anymore."

Her thoughtful gaze drifted to the floor, unsure of what this meant for her. Before she could work out how to respond, Kylo had already turned his back to her and shut the door prominently behind himself. Leaving her in the hallway with her thoughts.  
_____________

"You can't be _serious_?!"

Poe almost raised his voice to a shout as Finn frantically waved his arms in front of him in the attempt to shut him up, they were behind his X-wing after Finn had pushed him behind it to speak to him privately. He had to tell someone what he'd heard, and who better than his best friend - or so he'd thought.

"Shhh!! Calm. Down!"

He whispered tersely. Whilst Poe was talkative he was a good secret Keeper, and Finn just had to talk to someone about what he'd overheard. He continued,

"Nobody knows about it yet so you gotta keep it cool!"

Poe shifted his stance from his incredulous, stiff one to that of a more relaxed but askance one.

"Then how come you do?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck,

"I may or may not have overheard Leia telling Luke..."

"So Luke's actually _agreed_ to this?!"

Poe returned to his wildly bewildered expression making Finn groan and roll his eyes, _I thought I'd said to keep cool?!_ He thought, mildly annoyed.

"I know, it's bad, but at least she won't be alone."

He raised his pitch to make his statement sound like a question, which in turn made Poe raise his brows at him.

"Because it worked _so well_ the last time somebody tried to convince _Kylo freakin' Ren_ to come home! It's just too dangerous! How can they not see that?!"

Poe whispered with a deeply set frown, the optimist so rarely used it but now he couldn't just let his General waltz to what she believes is still her son only to be... He didn't want to further entertain the idea. Poe had missed the way Finn winced at his sharp yet truthful words before Finn had responded quietly,

"Leia says it'll be different this time because of what happened. You never got to see his eyes, Poe. They didn't turn yellow when he... When he killed - "

He couldn't say it, not again.

"My point being the effect of what happened was undesired - Ren isn't a Sith, which means he can still be redeemed. This is what I'd heard, and Luke is letting her go but he wants to be close by. I don't know when any of this is happening, but I know it's soon."

"How could someone like him possibly be redeemed? After everything he's done to us, to the Galaxy?"

Poe said in a pained whisper, Finn met him with a hand to his shoulder,

"My thoughts exactly, my friend. But he's Leia's son, it's in her hands."

As Finn replayed the furtive conversation in his mind...

.................................................................................................................................

"... It's like I said though, Luke. I've got to try. I should have a long time ago."

Finn stopped dead in his tracks from walking to his designated house, having overheard what he already realised to be a surreptitious conversation. He swiftly turned his head to his side to see it was indeed General Leia who had spoken to Luke in her quarters. Granted it was a little later than Finn usually stayed up 'til, but his small sense of curiosity was grateful he did, for he would have missed the opportunity to hear this...

He distantly wondered why they hadn't even sensed him so near - Could it be they were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't even realise? Even though it was clear it wasn't meant for another's ear? If this truly were the case, Finn had realised with the twist of his stomach just how serious the conversation was...

"Leia, please, think about this -"

"I have, Luke. Trust me."

"I do trust you, I don't trust my nephew."

Luke had avoided either of his names, unsure of which hurt Leia more.

"I have to try, at least once. I won't be alone, maybe I can even manage to get Rey back with your help, our trusted friends and fighters - do you remember what I said, at the meadow?"

Finn peeped through the window to see Luke's expression sadden and eyes gleam,

"You said that we needed to love Ben better than we did before."

The air was silent for a long moment and Finn physically felt sick with a tightened chest through the turmoil he was witnessing in their eyes. The Windows to ones soul.

"How can we know that it's Ben and not what he's been morphed into?"

Leia weighed his words a moment,

"His eyes. When I'd asked whoever had seen him after he did what he did three months ago, whoever had the strength to remember had told me - they weren't yellow Luke, he's _not_ a Sith. Not yet. We _can_ still save him."

Finn recollected just that. When he'd stared at Ren through the snow flurries that beat down on their faces on StarKiller Base as Kylo had claimed their unfinished business, Finn had indeed not seen the sickeningly yellow irises of a Sith Lord.

"Leia, I _want_ to believe, I do. He is still and always my nephew. But not every man or woman who turns to the dark ignoring the call to the light can be redeemed."

And somewhere, far from the Resistance Base, Kylo Ren was resisting certain whispers of the dark.

 

 

 

 


	7. The Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a late update!! I wrote this some time ago but been so caught up with getting myself ready for the new acedemic year haven't been able to be as regular, I hope you like it and when I finish the next chapter I'll post asap!! :)

Kylo's lungs rose and fell deeply with each breath being an arduous effort as he slept. His mind scoured through a series of images - but they were not his own... He felt the beating hot sun bore into his face, festering his flesh. He felt the coarse particles of sand rub between his toes as he walked, blistering, and slice his eyes in the wind that bit his face. The sweaty palms of Unkarr Plutt slipping down his bare arms as he tied to grip onto him too tightly for - what? He didn't want to think it, didn't want to know as he felt his hot breath against his ear sending fearful shivers crawling down his spine...

It was when Kylo awoke from these strange scenes that he knew it wasn't his at all. They were Rey's. He felt her wake around same time, also startled by what she'd scene in her sleep. Rey hasn't had nightmares since her time on Jakku, they seemingly all melted away, the real and the subconscious. Kylo felt she was sickened to her stomach from these visions -

_Where they from your past?_

He asked. He was returned with a stern,

_None of your business!_

He paused for a moment and tried to ignore the sharp pang in his chest at her words. He bit back,

_It is now that it's keeping me awake at night, Scavenger._

She was silent for a long moment and he instantly regretted thinking anything to her about it - _Why? Kylo Ren doesn't feel guilt_. Especially over poor little snivelling Scavenger girls that were of no use. He slapped his palms to his face. Only she wasn't useless. Or even snivelling. _Shut up!_ He ordered himself as he slammed his arms against his now damp mattress, evidence of their disturbance in the night.

_Why does this keep happening to us?_

She thought to him quietly, he knew she meant the nightmares.

_I don't know._

He answered simply, because truly he didn't know.

 _We're almost there, try to rest_.

He thought to her, no matter how futile the task may be for them both. But before Rey had shut her lids to do so, he wondered, _Did that pink slob try to take advantage of her?_ He hadn't expected an answer to his thoughts, not realising she heard him,

_Well... When I got older... Yes, he had tried. In exchange for more food rations._

They were silent for what felt like forever as he digested this. Though she had thought it quite indifferently, there was no denying her old fear being awakened, especially not from him of course. He felt an inexplicable rage surge through his blood and he wanted Unkarr Plutt's blood for his disgusting thoughts - _What are you doing, Kylo?! How could you even care? You're a monster, remember? You've killed innocents..._ Suddenly a flash of an image occurred in his mind, it was Rey standing over Unkarr Plutt's limp and lifeless body as she had his blood on her hands, her face as she stood over him after taking her revenge for how he has treated her her whole life there...

_Have you truly thought that before?_

She didn't answer,

_I wouldn't blame you. Not at all. Wouldn't have the right to anyway._

_That you wouldn't._

He almost smiled to himself.

_Our bond must be getting stronger. I haven't told anyone of this and yet you've seen it. Even when you searched my deepest thoughts and feelings I tried so hard to hide it and not think of it. But now you know._

Neither of them could tell whether the final release of this kind of burden really was a good or a bad thing. Suddenly, Kylo's chest tightened to the point that he couldn't breathe with the burden he'd been keeping...

_Rey, there's something you deserve to know._

He felt her undeniable confusion,

_What?_

_I have been keeping memories of your suppressed past from you. When I claimed that I haven't been._

The air was quiet for so long he thought he would shatter from the rigid tension that over took his limbs.

_I can't say that I'm surprised that you've been lying to me._

And yet, it still hurts her somehow. _I can't believe I was foolish enough to start believing - to start thinking that maybe, just maybe I wasn't being lied to about something important._ Just as he felt a thin veil of a mental block appear in her mind, he halted her without thinking,

_Wait, I didn't trust you with it, so I didn't tell you._

_What does that even mean, Kylo? This is my past, why didn't I get to choose what to do with the memories?_

He winced,

_When you put it like that... But I am sorry._

_Do you trust me now?_

He considered this a while until finally deciding,

_I trust that you won't do anything stupid upon learning of it._

That was good enough, and Rey would see his stony exterior being chipped away again to reveal Ben Solo underneath, not Kylo Ren. So she asked,

_Please, Ben. Just tell me._

He recoiled at the former name like it was a venomous snake,

_That's not my name._

_That's not my concern._

She shot back, he rolled his eyes, miffed. He scrunched his face as he turned to his side, about to shut her out when he sighed, she does deserve to know.

 _Fine_ , he sneered internally and when he'd taken a breath to calm himself, continued,

_Perhaps I should tell you at a more appropriate time -_

_And let me mull over it the entire night, thanks that's really gonna help me sleep!_

_The truth would be far worse to deal with at night. It even haunts me from time to time._

She was stunned by his words,

_But... How could my past haunt you?_

The silence was deafening, until he thought quietly,

_Because Ben Solo was in it._

* * *

"Does anybody even know where Snoke is?!"

Poe exclaimed over lunch at the canteen, not being able to drop their military conversation even during recreational hours apparently. Finn's shoulders slumped,

"No, nobody here does anyway."

He gestured around the outside of the canteen to the rest of the resistance base.

"We'll never find her, not unless she's wanted to be found."

Finn only peered up from his plate of food when the silence grew, only then did he realise that most pairs of eyes around the table were fixed upon him, some scrunched awkwardly, others in surprise some even seemed vexed by his statement.

"Oh come on! It's not like I don't _want_ to find her! I was only saying what people have been thinking and you know it."

Whilst Poe knew he was right, he placed a halting hand on his shoulder and when Finn met his gaze from beside, Poe gave a light shake of his head. He knew what Finn was going through, they all did. His love for Rey was obvious. But it was starting to beat down on all hope and moral of the resistance with her absence.

_She could help bring down the galaxy if they get to her!_

_We're doomed if she turns to the dark!_

_Kylo Ren could turn her to the dark side..._

_She could be seduced to the dark side by either of them..._

Speculations of which flew through the resistance, between its members. It even got to Poe a great deal more than he once thought, having his friend spoken about this way. He could only imagine how Finn was feeling about it. Who rose to his feet with an, 'i've lost my appetite anyway.' As he quickly carries his tray and leaves without another word, curiously somber eyes trailing his wake.

 _Think, Finn where could Snoke even be? Leia must know... Ask her, she wants to see... Ben anyway..._ He thought all at once as we strode towards Leia's quarters in the hope she was there. And she was.

"Finn, how did you even -"

"Know about it? I heard you tell Luke... I'm sorry."

Even the tips of his ears reddened as she gave him a half-hearted disapproving  glance.

"And you came to... What? Stop me? Join me?"

She continued her glance to him and he weighed her words with a frown.

"Where he is, that's where Rey will be."

She smiled at him,

"I thought you'd say that."

And that was all the answer they needed. Finn was to accompany The General Organa on her quest in the hope to find Rey alive, well and most importantly, still the Rey he knows and loves.

* * *

Hux gaped at the highly regarded female Captain over his shoulder.

"They're coming _here?!_ **_What?!_** "

"Of direct orders from the Supreme Leader himself, sir."

Hux flit his eyes around the floor in search of an answer that wasn't to be found.

"Did Master Ren at least inform you as to _why_ they were told to come here instead?"

When Hux's eyes finally met Phasma's chrome mask, she responded robotically,

"No, sir. Just of their change of course."

hiding the fact she quickly drew tired of his melodramatic mannerisms. He nodded slowly,

"Alright, you're dismissed. Update me on the progress of our new storm trooper trainees before the week is out."

She ducked her head with another 'yes,sir' and was gone before long. There was an inexplicable tightening of her throat the nearer she drew to them, each step closer was a step closer to her unease. These infants had only begun 'conditioning of the mind'. _They were infants._ Hux claimed it was to ensure absolute allegiance and loyalty, as that had failed them with the example of FN-2187. They were being brainwashed to kill without question, die without complaint. And they were new borns. Phasma had to take a quiet moment to herself to steady herself, for even she isn't always made of the hard chrome mask that her helmet is...

* * *

"How could you!"

Rey stormed in the control room with a voice so angry it shook her very body. Kylo closed his eyes as he bent over the controls of the command shuttle.

"How dare you shut me out after telling me something so - so..."

She couldn't find the right words to describe the - what? Betrayal? _Don't be so ridiculous, Rey - the only way you could have felt betrayed was for there to be trust in the first place._

"You're quite right, but maybe it's because I cannot truly lie to you, especially not now with how much stronger out force bond is."

He turned, nonchalant as he chose to ignore her question, this infuriated her. After their shared nightmare of Rey's memories, he'd left her with nothing but the claim to his presence in her past and knowing of what happened to her. He put his mental walls up against her, unwilling to share anymore. And also locked his door. Even the mention of his former name brought unnecessary pain in which he is trying to avoid. Always trying, always failing. In this constant cycle of torment and she asks of him to make it worse by reliving it all in vivid detail. He was unprepared, _she deserves to know_ \- he just needs the strength to tell her.

"You're Goddamn right I deserve to know! It's. My. Past. You have no right to hold it from me!"

She stormed closer now, she was inches from his tall frame. Though he leaned over her considerably, being so tall, she was the imposing presence in that moment. His eyes shot a condescending glare,

"You sure you're even ready to know?! There was a reason I withheld the information, Rey!"

He almost spat, she locked her jaw, refusing to budge. So he turned around and stated that they were very close to where The New Empire was arising from the ashes upon another base. They'd so far spent nearly three weeks alone together on this voyage, and yet it felt like months. _It's a wonder we haven't killed each other yet._ He thought with a sardonic snort _._

"I don't plan on stopping to your level. I would never kill, it is not the Jedi way."

He laughed a grim, almost superior laugh,

"There is so very much being withheld from you. It seems that not even your precious new father figure follows the path of a true Jedi."

His eyes bore into hers and the unmistakable hurt within her hazel eyes searched back, in the blind hope that he was lying or just plain wrong. But she couldn't find it.

"No, that's - that can't be true..."

She whispered as her traitor tears finally spilled over her lids. She couldn't tell through the blur of her vision but his hard expression softened infinitesimally.

"Rey, I -"

"No. Just -"

She sighed, having interrupted but not knowing what it was exactly that she wanted to stop him from saying. His tone was apologetic somehow... _I **am** sorry_ , he thought to her. She glanced at him, a strange curiosity sparking within her. They'd unconsciously inched closer to one another and she searched his eyes, close enough to come to a curious realisation -

"Your eyes... They don't look brown..."

He frowned a moment until he lost his trail of thought, searching her hazel eyes with flecks of gold under the light.

"Not even black as I'd once thought... They're almost..."

They were a very dark murky blue with illusions of being brown or black from afar, well not that far away, she'd only noticed because she was suddenly _that close_. Before she could stop herself, and before he wouldn't let her, she trailed his baby pink scar with her fingertips so gently the touch was as light as a moth's wing. There was a sharp intake of breath but from whom they couldn't tell.

"Rey,"

He tried to sound stern but his voice shook. Her hand slid to her side nevertheless, though they didn't move away. The very air around them seemed to charge again. He couldn't seem to place the confusion, it was all around - heightened when she was near.

"Tell me, Ben. Please."

He was awoken from his... Stupor of sorts at that name. Ben. Ben Solo. He turned his gaze away from her over his shoulder, somehow both still stuck in position but the energy seemed to have dimmed with the tearing of their gazes.

"If you think I'm a monster now, you'll see everything and everyone you know in a much darker light, including myself."

She allowed him the silence to continue, when he realised this, he did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so a tentative alliance seems to be forming... *~* let me know your thoughts! Hope you enjoyed and comments, bookmarks and kudos are all greatly appreciated so thank you!! :D


	8. The Truth

Rey was surprised at herself for how she so willingly stood there, inches away from The Prince of Darkness himself as he drew nearer. How only months ago all she wanted was to flee from him, being tied down in an interrogation chair, yet now she couldn't bring herself to move away... though no physical restraint hindered her.

"I'll show you."

He said to her, his voice unintentionally low as if someone could hear and it was a dark secret - it was at least the latter half. And show her he did. He raised his palm to her forehead and she willingly accepted the memories he flashed before her mind of his perspective...  
.................................................................................................................................

A young, scrawny Ben Solo trudged through the earth closely behind his Uncle Luke Skywalker after walking through a jade forest for what Ben had thought felt like hours.

"Uncle Luke are we almost there?"

He whined in a voice that indicated he was in his early teenage years, Luke's expression was anxious and yet he mustered enough patience left to smile to his nephew,

"Almost, have patience young padawan, we will soon find what we are looking -"

But Luke had stopped speaking. Cut off by some unseeable force. By the Force itself... Ben's brow creased, bemused at his Uncle's sudden halt, until his eyes turned wild with anxiety as he gripped Ben by the shoulders, hard.

"Stay here."

He cut off Ben's questioning as he stormed away, Ben frightful of being left alone, followed after him. But Ben was never truly alone, though... He couldn't begin to fathom how he got away with following his uncle unnoticed, but that was shortly old news as when Luke halted again, Ben's eyes fell upon where he stood atop the marble of the dilapidated city his eyes scoured through. Isolated as it was, there was still life there... Out from behind a tree, Ben stepped closer to see Luke stared not at the city, but at two other force users. Who bore red light sabers. Ben took an involuntary step back and almost tripped. Sith Lords - he thought they weren't even around anymore... All except the voice in his mind of course, constantly attempting to lure him towards the dark...

"Why?"

Luke implored desperately, the pain in his voice even hurt Ben and that wasn't often. But Ben looked to the city with more scrutiny and saw what Luke must have been asking about. Crumpled, even decapitated bodies littered the ground - the hilts of light sabers drowning in their blood. Young Jedi, Ben realised. From acclaiming Jedi Knights even to... Younglings...  
.................................................................................................................................

Ben tried to skip over what occurred immediately after the conversation between Luke and these two people, but Rey wouldn't have it. She demanded to know all, and so she sought it out herself in his mind as she pushed back. And what she found was in fact that Kylo had indeed been telling her the truth...  
.................................................................................................................................

Luke fought so gracefully it was as if he were undertaking a dance with the two Sith Lords that had cloaked their appearances afore him. He could hardly bring himself to tear his eyes away, that was until he saw a flicker of something - or someone? Just behind a heap of marble... And surely enough, moments after he was met with big doe-like hazel eyes and stray locks of brown hair upon a small child. He was stunned a moment, had the Sith Lords kidnapped her? But as Luke had sparred with them, the taller of the two Sith Lords was inches from slicing his throat when Luke parried his attack somehow and sliced off his arm, making the main grunt in pain for a moment until Luke finished the job by piercing his stomach through. _Why did he just do that?!_ Ben thought, horrified. _That is not the Jedi way!_

Simultaneously, the other one screeched for vengeance with their attack and the little girl shot from behind the rock and over to the fallen man, cupping his face in her tiny, tubby fingers and crying her eyes out... For her father. Ben emerged by then, beseeching for them to stop - the sight of this little girl unhinged him and brought him from his peculiar daze. But soon after, during the spar of Luke and the remaining Sith Lord, the little girl's face grew angry and she stood to lift her arm towards him.

"No!"

Ben screeched and Luke whipped around, distracted for a moment to see the girl for the first time. She levitated some of the marble shards to attack - _how could she do that at such a young age?_ Ben thought, for she could only be five at best. Ben vehemently blocked her though and her eyes shot to him and before she could attempt to try something on him, her head snapped to her right to see the other Sith fall to their knees, dead. She ran over to that Sith Lord as well. Who was, according to her cries, her mother... She called for blood at Uncle Luke for what he'd done to her parents. He'd knocked her out with what little of the Force he had left and turned to Ben, looking as pained as ever. But all Ben could do was stare incredulously at him.

"How could you?!"

He asked with a shaky voice, near tears. _That little girl was now an orphan because of him!_ He ran over to the scene and made sure the girl was still breathing for good measure. What little trust he may have had left for his Uncle, it had further dissipated at these events. Perhaps it had even completely vanished. It didn't matter that Luke was going to be killed himself if he did nothing - because he did _too much_ , and did worse than what was necessary. Because of who they were and just how powerful they were. Ben sat there on the dusty marble cradling the little girl's head as he numbly listened to Luke's description of them. The woman's father was a great Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Whom Luke looked up to as a young man... He'd had a surreptitious affair baring a daughter, who had had this little girl. Rey. Though that wasn't strictly her forename... 

Luke had wiped her memories in the hope to train her at his academy for Force sensitives, away from the dark, and did just that. She seemed light, happy even with the lack of knowledge and lies that were fed to her so convincingly. And Ben had to play along. _This is wrong_ , he thought daily. She would often seek out Ben for reasons unknown to him. What was also strange was how he'd grown quite fond of the quirky girl who had somehow changed him in his time of turmoil... If only for a short time when she were near to brighten his spirits with her optimism.

Until she started to become a threat again three years later. Unbeknownst use of the dark side had begun to consume her, she begun to not even consciously realise it. And so for her own safety and that of others, and most importantly to keep her away from the grasp of the infamous phantom known as 'Snoke', Luke left her with nothing but her middle name with a promise to come back someday, which Ben had voiced to her as her body racked with sobs against his shoulder before Ben reluctantly tore away from her to leave her there, in the clasp of that repulsive, pink slime ball.

"I'll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise."  
.................................................................................................................................

And suddenly Rey was unintentionally thrust into more recent memories - how Kylo tried to avoid hurting her unless it were absolutely necessary, on the brink of being killed by her by any means. How he wasn't absolutely sure it was actually her until the saber her grandfather had kept for twenty years prior to Luke's possession of it had been called upon into her hand on Starkiller Base. Ever since he knew, he'd wanted to teach her, again - knowing that Luke wouldn't be able to teach her everything consumed by guilt and fear as Kylo could remember anyway. How the order to kill his father ripped him apart, not actually doing it... But trying to reel in his emotions on what really happened...

When he'd finally released Rey she stumbled back and fell onto a chair, needing something to grasp onto as she seemingly lost her grip on everything. She tried to take in what she had just seen. Her eyes stung with hot tears as she looked up to his weary expression. _You're no monster_ , she thought. She looked at her hands, _but I might be..._ He reached out to her but she had already turned and ran out of the room. He would leave her alone to grieve the loss of her past and what she used to know.

* * *

"So, Rey won't technically be in any danger whilst with Kylo then?"

Finn asked the General as they began preparations for departure in a suitable resistance craft. Leia really did try not to show how she felt whenever the false name of her son was used.

"Not with their Force Bond she won't be, she'd be able to sense anything suspicious from a mile off."

Leia claimed absently as she wandered around the ship switching on this and that and flipping all kinds of levers and such like - Finn still didn't really know how to start up a space craft.

"That means he also won't be able to lie to her, so maybe she might even have some unintentional valuable intel on the New Empire, should we reach her."

Luke stated from behind as he came into the control room. They had been informed by the rebel x-wing pilots that received word of the change of course of Kylo Ren. No longer en route to what was estimated to be wherever Snoke would be, but to the New Empire. Which, whilst being unfortunate not knowing the whereabouts of Snoke, wasn't fruitless - they will find out the primary base for the first order. At least, that is, if they don't reach Kylo before they are at said base... Chewie and Poe were piloting the vessel, seemingly choosing not to contribute to the conversation. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the group at the topic. It seemed easier said than done to broach the subject clinically, with there being strong opinions of the two, one way or the other.

"Then let's hope we reach her."

Poe stated quietly, still facing out the window as they cruised through the wide open space, having left the Resistance base.

 _And hope we reach Ben..._ Leia thought with an equilibrium of hope and despair.

* * *

_Kylo, why are you being so weak? Your emotions are almost childlike._

Kylo heard the voice again, as he begged sleep to find him, deeply rooted in his mind... He's come to know the voice to be some kind of illusion, but it never faltered in beating his psyche - the voice was a whisper and has accompanied him for years... He's never alone. But he still doesn't know who the voice is. It wasn't Rey, at least he knew that much. It wasn't Snoke, when he wished to contact him it wasn't a whisper in the dark and he saw him as well as hearing him, as clear as a bell.

_I am not weak!_

_You're helpless, snivelling fool. That girl will end your legacy._

_What are you even talking about?!_

Ren shouted in his mind, and was responded not by the whispers, but by Rey.

_Um... I didn't say anything?_

Kylo's Palm flew to his face, _dammit_.

_Oh right, excuse me._

He sensed that her confusion was not quelled by this, and tensed for a moment in the suspense of whether she would ask anything or say anything at all. Why was he nervous about this? Maybe he was just raw from all the memories he'd relived today, seeing it mirrored in her glistening eyes when they broke away from the visions.

_I'm sorry..._

He shot up ramrod straight, waiting, speechless.

 _For my assumptions... I had no idea_ \- she cut short. He knew what she was trying to say though, and that was all that was needed.

_Don't get used to that, by the way._

After a moment he let out a soft chuckle and was finally at ease enough to even think,

 _Noted_.

In the long silence that followed, Kylo began to worry of the voice's return, it always seemed to disappear when Rey was with him or talking to him. He doesn't deserve her friendship. Not anymore. His mind flashed to their few childhood memories of their all-too-short time together. He felt calm but quite sad.

_Were we truly friends? Back then, I mean._

Kylo didn't know whether to smile or sigh.

_Yes. You would always try to 'brighten my day' I believe you put it, once or twice._

He felt her laughter and allowed himself a smile.

_Oh? And why's that?_

And just like that, his levity vanished as quickly as it had come. Rey sensed this and bit her lip, _shit_.

 _It's alright. It's just uh... Well, it was soon before I - before_ \- he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. _Why?! I really am as weak as the whispers tell me so..._

_You're stronger than you credit yourself to be._

He let her comment sink in before she eventually went on to continue painfully,

_But you could be so much better than who you choose to be._

Rey was grateful she wasn't speaking, as she couldn't trust her voice with her throat feeling this constricted. Even if she couldn't place why. He couldn't understand the hurt in her tone, until he saw his mother flash before his eyes. Rey wanted him to go back for her. But how could he? After everything he's done... Choosing to sway from the current direction of conversation, Rey continued, deftly unsure,

_Would you say we were friends now?_

He weighed her words for a long time, they've certainly tolerated each other more easily lately, over the course of their three weeks or so together, alone. But Kylo knew he didn't just 'tolerate' Rey, now that he'd given up trying to hate her. Her very presence soothed him - from his pain, the whispers, everything. But she deserves much better friends than he and the ones she has, really, he thought.

_You shouldn't be friendly to me._

She considered that a moment, and he hoped it wasn't her deciding it was merely pity and not kindness and the possibility of a rekindling, budding friendship.

_There are plenty of things people shouldn't do, but choose to anyway._

He turned to his side in a foetal position at her words.

_What does this mean? For us, then?_

They seemed to be the other's bane as well as a salvation, both a nightmare and a dream. Light and Dark.

_I know that I want to trust you, I just don't yet know if I can._

He realised she was referring to Snoke and his orders for Kylo. If he were to proceed to travel down the dark path of the Sith, he would most definitely lose what little he'd managed to salvage from their severed friendship.

_I understand._

Rey was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't thrown some kind of fit once during the entirety of their heavy conversation topics. A deep silence ensued, until he finally stated,

_We will be at the base tomorrow, you need to rest._

_Are we going to train?_

He hadn't realised she would not only accept his offer, but be almost eager to train under his instruction. _She wants me to teach her again?_ Rey couldn't help but wonder over his last word of his thought... _Again?_

_Well, after what I've seen today, I don't think I could go back to Luke so easily..._

She thought warily and he tried to stay numb. She continued,

_You did warn me._

_Yes but I was being snide, Rey. I'm not now._

He almost chided until his internal voice grew softer with his final words.

_Just promise me one thing._

He waited patiently, always reluctant to promise anything without knowing what it was exactly that he was getting himself into.

_Just don't make me levitate rocks._

He guffawed, actually _laughed_. Having expected something serious, the comment threw him off and filled him with a laughter he hasn't experienced in years. Genuine laughter, not the sick and cruel kind he had become so used to.

_I promise._

* * *

Leia's lungs abruptly filled with air as she sensed her son's presence. Her hopeful gleam the antonym of her brothers expression. She must remain positive, or she will have truly lost everything. Luke's wisdom whilst helpful is sometimes the bane of him.

"What? What is it? Are they close?!"

Finn said quickly like an over-excited puppy. In fact, they were so close, they could see Kylo Ren's command shuttle. And Ren could see theirs. Fully aware of one another. After a pregnant length of time debating options, they finally saw Kylo's command shuttle preparing to land on the nearby planet.

"Time for negotiations it is, sans aggression."

Poe tried to add levity to the unequivocally tense moment, but it had little effect sadly. As all were gravely concerned of this outcome. Failing to restrain themselves from the memory of what had happened the last time they had tried to reach out to Kylo Ren. To Ben. Is Ben still in there? Leia hoped to the stars above that he was. But did anyone really believe it?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I really hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope this fan theory/ Fan Fic essence of this chapter isn't really dumb XD.


	9. The Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, laptop's still screwed so another relatively short chapter but I've been thinking when it next evens out to 10, I'll add the chapters in two's so that they are a little longer each. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter isn't as various/diverse as the others, being only one scene but I didn't want to break it up and it just fit what I wanted for the chapter - there will be more First order and resistance in the following chapters though! Hope you like the update :)

Rey question's Kylo internally before she sensed allies - the resistance... And Luke Skywalker - she unintentionally tensed, only for a moment. As this occurred in a matter of seconds, Kylo had responded to her initial bemusement,

"We're regressing to futile negotiation."

He sounded bored, and yet Rey was not the only one with a knot in her stomach. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to be anywhere near Kylo... She knows what he is capable of, she can only pray to some deity that should exist that he will refrain from such choices. He internally winced at her thoughts for half a second and composed himself enough for it to go unnoticed. Or so he had hoped at least. They were gliding through the atmosphere of yet another planet unbeknownst to Rey.

"It isn't a planet, it's a moon. The forest moon, Endor."

Rey sensed him flinch this time, his somewhat blank features torn into a grimace. An image of a young Han and Leia flashed into her mind upon this forest moon and suddenly she knew. If they were not Force sensitive, her small intake of breath would have given her away anyway.

"Yes, unfortunately I'm all too familiar with this place."

He rolled his eyes. Rey understood his contempt with sharing feelings, being much the same herself on that front. It made her uncomfortable to talk about such things, let alone to someone - someone... What? Well, she didn't really know how to categorise Kylo now... _Is he still meant to be my enemy?_ He turned his chin over his shoulder to where she stood, not meeting her gaze. He hesitated for a long moment,

"We're supposed to be,"

She couldn't help but sense he almost hadn't finished his sentence, but chose not to continue... She would ask later, as for now they have a more imminent issue to deal with as they landed gracefully on a platform on the forrest moon. Rey took deep breaths in an attempt to prepare herself for the coming 'conversation', as she watched the resistance shuttle come to land not far off from their own. Around thirty years ago on this moon was the birth of a galactic peace helped brought by three of the beings aboard that shuttle. Rey wondered what will be brought this time around, unaware of just who was aboard that ship due to being focuses on his to keep things a conversation and nothing further.

*            *            *            *

Leia moved to open the blast doors and was surprised to be halted by a firm yet gentle hand to her shoulder. Her eyes darted to the hand then to its owner to see Luke's weary gaze,

"Leia, I know there is conflict with Ben, a pull to the light still remaining, but promise me you won't be blinded by your love for him."

His thoughts adamantly on his old friend and brother in law, who had succumbed to such a fate. Leia's eyes locked with his with an outward determination, but inner heart ache.

"I won't. But I _must_ try to do this, I'll never forgive myself if I don't."

And with that, he released his hand from her shoulder and she accessed the panel to open the blast doors.

"I need you to stay with the ship -"

"What?!"

"We can't do that -"

Leia interrupted the two young men as she continued,

"The less of us there are to confront Ben the better, just trust me."

"But Leia we can't let you go like that! I mean I know you have Luke but -"

"But nothing, Poe. I need you to trust me."

"We do trust you, General."

Finn added placatedly, no need to add the fact that it's her son they don't trust. And before any more could be said or done, Chewie finally stepped up and held his arm up to hinder any passage to the boys, guttural dialect emitting from him.

"Thanks Chewie."

Leia smiled and left the ship with her brother. As soon as she stepped foot onto the platform, she saw Rey emerge after her son from his command shuttle and her hand flew to her chest as her heart skipped a beat. _Calm down, Leia_ she thought, for she knew Luke wouldn't let her near Ben without him otherwise. She mindlessly rooted to the spot in which she stood, as with everyone else. She couldn't tear her eyes away from her son; his raven locks that cascaded over his features in the wind, his cloak as black as night whipping over his tense stature as he stood. She allowed herself a small moment to thank the Force for giving her this chance to see his face, if nothing else were to happen in her favour.

She didn't have to force a smile when she saw Rey alive and well. But then she noticed Rey was distressed, but not of her son whom is her captor... Her smile was wiped off of her face when she noticed how she could hardly bring herself to look at either herself or Luke especially. Rey stood infinitesimally behind Ben only inches from him really and Leia couldn't begin to understand how Rey was so suddenly so... Uncomfortable to see herself and her brother. She decided to speak,

"Thank you for landing."

Was all she could muster out of everything that she'd wanted to say to her son, he remained his cold exterior and stated,

"I knew you wouldn't give up trying to find us if I didn't land now to see what it is that you wanted. But even if I wasn't force sensitive, I could hazard a guess as to what that might be."

Rey shot him a sharp look that he didn't see, his eyes locked onto his mother and flit to his uncle as he tensed at Kylo's words, whose jaw locked tight. Leia remained strong, refusing to back down now she had finally gotten this far in opportunity to reach out to Ben.

"Yes, I'm sure you know why we're here."

She started, a lump began to constrict her throat. She took three cautious steps forward, Ben didn't move a muscle but Rey moved to stand beside him now, almost to ensure his lack of movement forward. Leia supposed that Rey didn't trust him with her, after Han... Rey's gaze perpetually alternated from Ben to Leia - never Luke. Leia sensed Luke wince underneath his tensed form.

"Come home, Ben. It's never too late."

Rey sensed Kylo grit his teeth to hinder some kind of broken sound that threatened to emanate from his throat.

"Even now, after everything that I've done, you still think I could just simply 'come home'?"

He asked condescendingly but Rey detected that it was a genuine question being masked by the thick sarcasm. Leia simply nodded slowly, not trusting her voice. Kylo's hands balled into fists. Leia took a few more steps closer and Luke decided to meet her at her side this time, clearly having lost any kind of faith in bringing Ben home. Kylo stepped forward and was closely followed by Rey, who stood in front of him now. Rey knew the lack of his uncle's trust wiped what little vulnerability began to slip, being replaced fully by his anger. Leia met the two with Luke not far behind until she was about a metre away.

Leia's eyes traced over Ben's scar that surprisingly didn't mar his features as she imagined it could. She absorbed his appearance like a sponge, committing it to memory so she would remember the face of her son should it be the last time she saw him. Each member of the resistance that was present couldn't fathom as to why Rey hadn't run to them or run for the hills at all - but how she stood beside Kylo Ren... Finn pressed his palm to the glass on the ship hissing under his breath how she needs to run, _just once I wish she'd just listen to me! Of course, she couldn't actually here me though..._

"You need to release Rey."

Luke bluntly stated without the use of either of his nephew's names, not wanting to spark anything in either his nephew or his sister. Kylo almost smirked triumphantly,

"Why don't we let Rey decide what she wants?"

Now everyone was definitely lost, bar Rey. She permitted herself a weary glance to Luke who's eyes bore into her, beseeching. _What is it?!_ He thought with what would have surely been a strangled cry from his fear of losing yet another of his students to the dark side. Leia picked up on her hesitation and sensed her ever increasing lack of enthusiasm to come home, so she asked,

"You don't want to train with Luke... Why?"

"Why don't you ask the man who gave her a reason."

Kylo spat towards his Uncle who glared back until meeting Leia's gaze in confusion. Rey stood a little taller and lifted her chin so that they could see her face clearly as she wore a grimace,

"You told me my father was a gallant resistance pilot who fell in battle. My mother, a politician for the new republic, died misleading the Sith from murdering members of the Senate."

Her voice began to shake as she recalled what lies Luke had fed her at the academy when she was a youngling - what Ben had placed back into her mind. She searched her feelings from the force and knew it to be true. _How ironic_ , she thought sardonically, _that Kylo Ren is the only one being completely honest with me._ Luke finally had the decency to let his eyes fall to the floor. What she couldn't understand was Leia's obvious confusion.

"What do you mean, what are you talking about, Rey?"

Leia asked sadly, Kylo's anger with his uncle cracked through his somewhat shaky facade,

"We never told anyone what happened so I'm not surprised that you still have no idea."

Leia shot her eyes to her brother,

"Luke what are they talking about?!"

She asked in a hushed voice, venomously. After a deep pause, Luke looked to his sister,

"Rey's parents were the two Sith Lords with Snoke that we spent all those years looking for, and the woman was the daughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi."

A sharp intake of breath sounded from her lips.

"What?!"

She breathed and looked to Rey with a greatly apologetic glance as Luke continued,

"I'd found them with Ben by mistake as we sought council with members of the new republic - the Sith Lords destroyed everything and everyone, including all the Jedi that resided, mainly younglings. And I destroyed them. Wiping Rey's memories of the incident and the dark side to train her."

Leia didn't know where to look as she took in this information, glancing at her son and Rey for their expressions as they relived the information. Ben remained blank, but Rey tried to blink back hot, frustrated tears. Luke heaved his words with a heavy sigh, drowning in guilt.

"See the _corruption_ of 'The Jedi way'?"

Kylo almost taunted and Rey would be lying if she said it didn't still rub her up the wrong way, but before she could say anything, Luke had ignited his lightsaber and moved to strike Kylo, but he was swift to block him with his own crimson cross-guarded saber. Leia gasped but was of course unable to do anything. Sadly, neither was Rey, Kylo still obtaining her - _Luke's_ lightsaber... But that didn't stop her from hovering a restraining hand over Kylo's shoulder, being careful not to touch him.

"Stop!"

She half pleaded, half demanded of the two as her gaze met both faces repeatedly. Their gazes were locked upon each other, even as Luke addressed Rey sternly,

"He's no saint, Rey! He will seduce you to the dark side!"

"She knows what I've done! It's _you_ she doesn't know."

 _She sees it in my nightmares each night_ , he involuntarily thought and hoped for some reason Rey was too wrapped up in the situation to pick up on it. Their saber lock tightened,

"And what about Snoke, huh?! If he orders Rey and she doesn't comply? What then?!"

Luke almost shouted to them, even though Kylo was only inches away and Rey was still trying to get their attention to stop them - her eyes frantically met Leia's and looked to the resistance ship, sensing other life on the ship... That were calm? _Why aren't they trying to stop this?!_  She was quick to realise the answer to her own question... They knew Luke would be able to handle himself, and perhaps they were even expecting this. But it angered her that they did nothing - until she realised, she was the only one who knew Kylo as he was... Even if she couldn't quite place the description, she knew that he wasn't a monster. But they thought he was. Perhaps with the exception of Leia.

Kylo stepped back vehemently at Luke's accusation, panting from the arduous effort they put into their locked sabers. He growled,

"Rey would be _my_ apprentice, not Snoke's."

She wasn't sure why, but Rey felt really odd about hearing him say these words aloud. His apprentice. Surely that connoted that she would be trained to use the dark side of the force... Though isn't that what she rooted from his mind in his moment of weakness on StarKiller base as she needed to fight him off with his first offer to teach her? Having had no knowledge of how to use the force back then? Well, first offer of her non-suppressed memories. Luke looked to Rey helplessly,

"Rey, please -"

But she ignored him. As she turned to Kylo with a grave determination, she balled her fists and locked her jaw,

"I _will not_ be trained to use the dark side of the force."

His expression seemed almost surprised, and yet he wasn't surprised at her statement - he was surprised at her willingness. As Luke tried to protest further she swung around to interrupt him,

"He can't lie to me. Not now with our force bond as strong as it is. He's the only one I can put any faith in with training."

And in the brief silence that followed, Rey turned on her heel to stalk away back to Kylo's command shuttle. Kylo weighed the expressions plastered on his once family's faces before taking a few steps back and turning to his ship himself. Leia futilely ran after them for a few paces until his ship began its ascent into the sky. Finn finally abandoned their ship just in time to watch the woman he loved being taken away from him again. _Why did i listen to Leia and stay on that fucking ship?! I should have been here! To show Rey that i was right here for her._ But now it was too late and she was gone again. He collapsed onto the platform and threw his hands to his head at his thoughts, watching their ship shrink into the space above...

Rey watched the tiny figures on the platform and failed to recognise who'd finally decided to come onto it. She hadn't really focused her energy on finding out who else was there, at the time merely assuming them to be some kind of ordinary flight crew but a painful knot twisted her stomach at the thought of it possibly being her dearest friends Finn and Poe. _Why did they stay away? Why didn't they come onto the platform at all?_ She argued that they couldn't for some reason, for surely they would want to see her, _right?_ Kylo's voice almost startled her as he cleared his throat awkwardly,

"I thought it would be a better idea for me to train you at the site of the old Jedi Order on Coruscant, it might be easier for you to channel the light side of the force that way..."

Rey frowned though he wasn't watching her,

"Are we supposed to be going there, though? Do _they_ know that's where you're Planning on training me?"

He finally met her gaze, albeit stiffly and her blood turned cold in her veins at the possible consequence of his answer,

"No."

She didn't know which question he answered, but she did know that either way, this could only be a recepie for disaster.

 

 


	10. The Pasts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry another update that came a little late!! When I have more time (hopefully tomorrow) I'll update the chapters in twos so that they are longer (so rather than 10 separate there will be 5 doubled up chapters) and continue this that way.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy the update, please excuse mistakes as it is not beta read and I really hope you like it!! Kudos, comments and bookmarks are all greatly appreciated :D so thank you!

General Organa flipped through the ruffled pages that seemed to acquire a dusty film over the years. The archives of their search to eliminate the threats of the Galaxy - which back then were the rise of the Sith. She came across illustrations of the two cloaked figures, never seeing their faces and all the real information that came with them. This she knew; That the woman was the daughter of Obi-wan. That was _it_. But now she knew that the other with her wasn't just her partner _in crime_ and that they had had a child. Rey. Or _'Kira Rey Kenobi'_  according to _these_ archives - having acquired her mother's maiden name for reasons unknown to her. Her heart pumped viscous blood at this flood of fateful information.

Luke hadn't told her this. Luke had told her initially that he'd found Rey amongst the remaining younglings with only the memory of being orphaned - her father fell in battle at the time of their air assault upon dark side supporters, her mother being killed on a conference with the senate simultaneously whilst Rey was under care. How she was with the younglings killed and not the daughter of the two Sith Lords themselves... Leia wouldn't have treated little Rey much differently had she known, but that wasn't why it was kept from her. It was Luke's guilt, his whispers of the dark that made him keep it from her - she could _feel_ it. And suddenly she feared greatly for her brother's sanity.

* * *

Kylo and Rey seemed to have formed an almost routine of whenever he was required to commandeer the shuttle, she would appear in the room to oversee what he did, how he did it, she claimed to herself that it was through mere curiosity and didn't want to entertain the idea of it being something other than that. Though there were times when she couldn't help but voice what he had to do should he have been hesitant enough to prompt perhaps... They weren't far from Coruscant now, and Rey wondered if Kylo had even told his 'Superior Leader' or whatever he was to him.

"It's  _Supreme_ leader, Scavenger."

He corrected with a mock eye roll of vexation. She couldn't help but smirk back,

"Oh I'm _so_ sorry, _**Master** Ren_."

She lay on thickly and they shared a brief chuckle. The moment was nice, but Rey couldn't deny that their shared quips only confused her more. Was she not only trusting him, but stretching so far as... befriending him? _No, I couldn't... What about Snoke?_ Her thoughts pained her very mind and it was suddenly visible upon Kylo's features as well.

"How about... allies?"

She deliberated internally for a long, painful moment and decided with a small nod,

"Sure, allies."

Hoping to Force that she wouldnt regret that choice. And she stroked into Kylo's mind for any thoughts of betrayal and his thoughts couldn't be farther from it - _I don't want to have to let her down again._ Rey couldn't get over her shock of his inner statement that she'd dug deeply for. He shrunk infinitesimally as he realised she knew this. Surely he must know that he will be delivering her to Snoke on a silver platter once she's been trained... And before she realised herself, Kylo admitted,

"Snoke wants to access your mind, as he can with mine. And he thinks with my training of certain ways for me to open your mind, I would be able to make it so."

 _This somewhat contradicts our agreement of allies_ , she thought sarcastically. He sighed deeply as he turned away from the controls to finally look at her instead,

"Don't you think I know that?!"

It came out more sharply than he'd intended but he hoped she'd know the frustration wasn't actually with her.

"I know your not angry with me, you wouldn't have any reason. But that doesn't give you the right to have a go at me!"

She almost chided and this rubbed him the wrong way, hating being told what to do - even if he knew she was right.

" _Don't_ tell me what to do."

He frowned and sounded more intimidating than petulant, as she thought he would. She took a small step back from his looming form but stood her ground there, tilting her chin up in determination.

"If you'd stop being so _insufferable_ with your _temper_ then I wouldn't have to comment on it!"

He stood staring her down for a long moment, it took _everything_ he had to calm down. He grunted and slid past her to leave the control room with a terse,

"We'll be there within the hour."

And left. Rey wasn't going to have that. She stormed after him, attempting to calm herself with three deep, even breaths before knocking somewhat incessantly on his door. He initially thought gruffly,

 _Go away, Rey_.

She sighed deeply and after an exaggerated eye roll, she knocked more softly but multiple times until his door flew open with him standing closely behind it as it slid forcefully out of the way,

"What!"

He asked with his hands on the frame. Rey peered at him with a quirked brow and thought it wise to be the bigger person. So after a couple of moments to relax, she said as sincerely as she could muster,

"Look, I won't apologise for what I said, because it's true."

He looked at her askance but allowed for her to continue, knowing she was right.

"But... I am sorry that it escalated."

Her words hung in the air for a long moment so much so that that peculiar charged quality pervaded the air again, the strange feeling of some kind of connection that left them both feeling really... well, connected. In the hopes of stifling the feeling through fear of it, Kylo tried to speak. He sighed,

"I'm sorry. I'm not... Used to..."

 _Well, this..._ he thought. She nodded knowingly and for reasons she couldn't fathom, she blurted,

"Tell me more."

Knowing he knew what she meant, giving him access to her thoughts, he almost sized her up. This Rey was intriguing and even spritely like she used to be when he knew her. And yet she was so different; somehow more determined, more fiery and even tempestuous. But most of all she was so... So... _Grownup_. Before he'd begun telling her more of everything, she frowned at him,

"What are you staring at?"

It didn't touch her eyes, for she could have realised what with a simple touch into his mind but instead waited for him to divulge a small smile,

"I still can't believe it's really you."

And they shared a moment of nostalgia for a life neither could barely remember, even though it was their own past. _How could time change so much so deftly?_ They didn't know. But before their descent onto Coruscant, Kylo indeed told, or showed Rey everything of her past. _Their_ past, and unintentionally seemed to form a foolish attachment of sorts in their alliance, for they will surely pay dearly for such occurrences later, when they finally ventured back to the Empire. 

* * *

Luke stared incredulously at the small shrub placed in his hands and back up again. Poe wore a blank expression in return as he shrugged,

"It's meant to help with the force, right? You gave my dad a piece - this piece."

Luke didn't remember how much he gave to Poe's father exactly but Poe had somehow managed to maintain it and in secrecy to everyone - even Kylo Ren should he have sought the pieces out. An element of the Force Tree that grew deep under the Jedi temple on Coruscant in which was obliterated years ago, after order 66 from Palpatine in his rise to power. Luke had discovered the remains and distributed them to trusted family and friends around the Galaxy for a multitude of reasons. And now Poe was giving his back to help bring Rey back.

"I shouldn't have listened to the General when she asked us to stay on the ship..."

Poe said to his feet. _What could i have done anyway? It's not as if the sight of me would really help,_ he thought _._

"Yes, you should have, Poe. There's no telling what could have happened if you didn't. Both you and Finn did what was necessary at the time - there will be a time when we will need you all by our side."

Poe peered up at Luke who wore his seemingly fixed somber expression. As Poe nodded in assent, Luke continued,

"You don't have to give me this, Poe. I would much rather it help you."

Poe raised his palms,

"It was yours first anyway. And we're gonna need it to get Rey back now - how could she believe in _him_? In the _dark_?!"

Poe began nonchalant, but started to hiss as he questioned her motives and loyalties - though deep down he knew he just wants her back home and could easily forgive her, she was a dear friend and it felt as if she were dying. Slowly on her way out of this world but an elusive ghost of a chance to save her. Until Luke said,

"She doesn't believe in the dark, even though it's there within her too. But you cannot deny the truth - they are unable to lie to one another now... So she most likely trusts him."

Poe couldn't even pretend to understand, let alone try to begin to do so.

"Why does it have to be _him_? Why couldn't she have had a force bond with _you_ or _Leia_?!"

 _It's just so unfair_ , Poe thought. Luke sighed and tried to placate him,

"I really don't know, but we can only hope that these circumstances turn out to be for the greater good in the end."

Poe didn't want the greater good to come if it meant losing Rey forever. He'd get by numbly from day to day but life here with the resistance wouldn't be the same without her, or Finn for that matter but thankfully he's still with them. These events have led him to realise just how much he cared for Rey, he could try to mask his anxiety over the situation with his charming bravado he so regularly emanates - but the truth is he just wants her safe again. Or at least safer than she will be when she's taken to Snoke... Luke placed his metal hand to Poe's shoulder,

"Poe, the force will be with us all, and when the time is right we will get another chance to get to Rey."

And they hoped that it would be before Snoke does.

* * *

"Supreme Leader, I don't understand what is so humorous about this?"

General Hux quavered in his looming presence, fearing the worst for himself with the news of Kylo Ren's little 'detour' to Coruscant. But instead of the lividity Hux was expecting from him, he received the stark opposite. Snoke was laughing darkly and contained himself enough to croak,

"People can be exquisitely predictable, don't you think?"

Hux's frown remained deeply set as his master continued,

"He still intends to train the girl - she knows, I can sense it that she knows of who she was and it couldn't be falling into place more adequately."

Snoke's furtiveness still had Hux bewildered and he didn't seem in any rush to explain further.

"General, cancel the squadron you have sent to Coruscant. Let them train there - and there may be no need for Ren's re-conditioning within _your_ program... I've had a better idea."

Hux attempted to compose himself enough to wear a blank expression and bow in assent before being dismissed from the room. He was rather reluctant to cancel the squadron sent to detain them from Coruscant - he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on the Scavenger Scum and Crylo Ren (a nickname he used for Ren to make himself feel better). But Hux knew that he was no match for either of them, much to his chagrin. He'd had an idea that could quite possibly compromise the situation to please both himself as well as the Supreme Leader.

"Captain Phasma, report to my division immediately."

In moments, the chrome mask was in sight and she began robotically,

"Sir, the squadron is ready to depart on your order."

"There's been a change of plans - I need you on a scouting mission instead. Do not detain the Scavenger Girl with Ren. I want you to tell me everything and anything you can of them upon Coruscant - but be wary, as they are both very strong with the Force. It isn't to be taken lightly, I learned the hard way."

He almost spat his words as he lowered his voice an octave upon recollecting _just how_ he'd learned the hard way when it came to the power of the force. He balled his fists upon remembering Kylo Ren's little temper tantrum upon him when it happened, sending him to the hospital wing for days on end with a bruised thorax. His lips curled darkly at the thought of the possibility of collecting possible surreptitious information on where Kylo Ren's loyalties truly lie. As no doubt even Snoke himself is questioning this even more so than ever before...

 

 


End file.
